Chapter 7 - The Shadows Lengthen
Three days later, Rebecca was moved from the intensive care unit into the executive recovery suite on the tenth floor—a massive, sunlit room that James had practically converted into a secondary command center for Carter Industries so he wouldn't have to leave her side for a single second.
The transition had not been easy. Rebecca’s pride was a fortress nearly as impenetrable as James’s had been. She initially refused the private nursing staff, insisted on wearing her faded hospital gown rather than the silk loungewear Marcus had procured, and eyed every luxury in the suite with deep suspicion.
Yet, resistance was difficult when confronted with relentless, quiet devotion.
James spent hours sitting in the armchair beside her bed, reading stories to Lily, feeding Rebecca spoonfuls of warm broth when her arms trembled too much to hold the spoon, and handling emergency corporate calls on mute while keeping his eyes fixed on the two people who mattered most in the world.
It was late afternoon when Marcus knocked softly on the door and stepped inside, holding a thick, secure tablet.
Rebecca, propped up against a stack of pillows, looked up sharply. "Who is that?"
"Just my attorney, Rebecca," James said calmly, standing up from his chair. "He's been handling the logistical side of things."
Marcus approached with a polite nod toward the bed. "Mrs. Carter—pardon me, Ms. Morgan. I have the preliminary incident report from the police department regarding the car crash."
Rebecca’s face paled instantly. She gripped the edge of the blanket. "The crash wasn't my fault. The brakes... the brakes locked up when I hit the standing water on the highway."
"I know it wasn't your fault," Marcus said, tapping the screen of the tablet. "Our forensic team inspected the vehicle towed from the scene. The brake line didn't fail due to wear and tear. It was sheared. Cleanly cut, with industrial precision, approximately twelve hours before you took the car out."
The air in the room vanished.
James stared at his attorney, his eyes turning to absolute flint. "Cut? Are you saying someone tampered with her brakes?"
"Yes, sir," Marcus replied grimly. "And based on the digital footprint we recovered from your corporate security archives, Mr. Carter... it wasn't a random act of vandalism."
Rebecca gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. "What are you talking about?"
"Five years ago, when you vanished," Marcus explained, looking directly at Rebecca, "you didn't just walk away from James. You walked away with a portfolio of architectural blueprints and structural asset valuations belonging to Vanguard Holdings—your former employer before you joined the art restoration firm."
Rebecca’s face lost all color. "I... I took my own research. Work I did independently before James even hired me."
"Vanguard didn't see it that way," Marcus continued. "Their CEO, Richard Vance—no relation to me—has spent the last half-decade hunting for those documents, believing you handed them over to Carter Industries to fuel our hostile takeover of their eastern division. They tracked you down to Queens last month."
James felt a surge of pure, murderous rage rise from the depths of his soul. His hands clenched into fists so tight his knuckles turned bone-white. "They tracked her. They tried to kill her."
"They staged an accident," Marcus confirmed. "A high-speed collision on a wet road, designed to look like driver fatigue. If you hadn't been in that hospital waiting room, Mr. Carter—if you hadn't intervened—the case would have been closed as a tragic, rainy-day accident."
Rebecca closed her eyes, tears of terror and frustration spilling over her lashes. "I kept moving... every six months, I changed apartments, I changed phone numbers... I thought I was safe..."
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James walked over to the bed, dropping to his knees beside her. He took her trembling hands in his own, his voice dropping an octave, ringing with absolute, terrifying authority.
"You are safe now, Rebecca," James vowed, staring into her eyes with a fierce, unbreakable intensity. "Nobody touches you. Nobody touches my daughter. Vanguard Holdings is about to find out what happens when you wake a sleeping dragon."
