Nora's POV
The coffee cup shattered against the hospital wall, missing my head by inches.
"You STOLE him from me!" Vivian screamed, her face twisted with rage. "Everything was perfect until you came back!"
I stood frozen in the break room, hot coffee dripping down the wall behind me. My stepsister had cornered me during my break, and now security was three floors away and the night shift was too understaffed for anyone to hear us.
"I didn't steal anyone, Vivian." I kept my voice calm even though my hands were shaking. "Marcus chose to cheat on me with you, remember? You won that prize."
"Not Marcus, you idiot!" She stepped closer, her designer perfume choking the small room. "Elias! Daddy had plans for the Bennett family. I was supposed to marry Elias after they destroyed his company. I was supposed to be the one saving him, making him grateful, making him MINE. But you ruined everything with your pathetic nurse act and your fake engagement!"
My blood turned to ice. "What are you talking about?"
Vivian laughed, sharp and cruel. "Did you really think Daddy just randomly decided to destroy you at your engagement party? He needed you out of the way. You were too soft, too weak. I'm the strong daughter. I was supposed to infiltrate the Bennett family, marry Elias, and give Daddy complete control over both empires." Her eyes glittered with hatred. "But then you showed up at THIS hospital, of all places, and ruined six months of planning!"
Before I could respond, the break room door burst open.
Elias stood there, still in his surgical scrubs, his scarred hands clenched into fists. His face was a mask of cold fury I'd never seen before.
"Get out," he said to Vivian. His voice was quiet, but it made the air feel dangerous.
"Oh, how sweet," Vivian sneered. "The hero arrives. Tell me, Dr. Bennett, does Nora know you've been investigating her family this whole time? Does she know you have files on every Chen family member going back three generations?"
I looked at Elias. "What is she talking about?"
Something flickered in his eyes. Guilt.
"I can explain—"
"He's been USING you!" Vivian interrupted triumphantly. "Ask him about the private investigator he hired the day after you started working here. Ask him about the weekly reports on your father's business dealings. Ask him why he really started writing those cute little love letters!"
My chest felt tight. "Elias?"
"Security is here," Elias said instead of answering. Two guards appeared behind him. "Ms. Chen is being escorted out. She's banned from this hospital effective immediately."
Vivian's smile was poison as the guards took her arms. "Run away from the truth, big sister. Just like always. But you can't hide forever. Daddy's planning something big, and when it happens, your precious doctor won't be able to save you."
They dragged her out, still laughing.
The break room felt too small suddenly. I couldn't look at Elias.
"Nora—"
"Is it true?" My voice came out small. "Did you investigate my family?"
Silence. Then: "Yes."
The word hit me like a slap. "Why?"
"Because I needed to know if you were a threat." He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "Your father had already tried to destroy my family twice. When you showed up at this hospital—Richard Chen's daughter working night shift in MY hospital—I had to know if you were a spy."
"So the letters..." I couldn't finish the sentence.
"Started as observation," he admitted. "I was watching you, trying to figure out your angle. But Nora, they became real. Everything between us became real. You have to believe that."
I wanted to believe him. God, I wanted to so badly. But my father had used me. Marcus had used me. Vivian had used me. How was I supposed to know if Elias was any different?
"I need air," I whispered, pushing past him.
"Nora, wait—"
"Don't." I held up a hand. "Just... give me space. Please."
I ended up on the hospital roof, our secret spot, the place where Elias came when his insomnia was worst. The city spread out below me, a million lights pretending everything was fine.
My phone buzzed. Mrs. Kapoor: Child, there's a man in a suit asking about you at the building. Says he's from your father's legal team. I told him you moved. Be careful.
My stomach dropped. Dad was looking for me. After months of silence, suddenly he was looking for me.
Another text, this time from an unknown number: Your father's planning something. Meet me at the old library on 5th. Come alone. I can help you. —A friend
I stared at the messages. Every survival instinct screamed TRAP. But what if it wasn't? What if someone really was trying to warn me?
Footsteps behind me. Elias.
"I know you're angry," he said quietly. "I know I should have told you about the investigation sooner. But Nora, everything I found just proved what I already suspected—that you were the victim, not the villain. Your father's company has been breaking laws for years. The FDA investigation, the clinical trial cover-ups, the insider trading—it's all real. And he's about to do something bigger. Something that will hurt a lot of people."
"How do you know?"
"Because my investigators have been tracking unusual money movements from Chen Pharmaceuticals. Large amounts being moved into offshore accounts. Properties being sold quietly. It's the pattern of someone preparing to disappear or preparing for something catastrophic."
I showed him the texts. "Someone wants to meet me. Says they can help."
Elias's face went pale. "It's a trap. It has to be."
"Or it's someone who actually wants to help." I met his eyes. "I can't keep hiding, Elias. I can't keep letting my father control my life through fear. If there's a chance someone knows what he's planning—"
"Then I'm coming with you."
"The text says come alone."
"I don't care." His scarred hands gripped my shoulders gently. "I'm not letting you walk into danger alone. I'm not losing you because I was too afraid to fight for you."
Something in my chest cracked open. "Even after I doubted you?"
"Especially after you doubted me. You have every right to doubt. Everyone in your life has given you reasons not to trust." He pulled me closer. "But I'm going to spend every day proving I'm different. Starting now."
I wanted to argue. To push him away. To protect myself from more heartbreak.
Instead, I kissed him.
It was different from our careful public kisses or even the desperate kiss in the surgeon's lounge. This was a choice. A real choice to trust him despite the fear, to believe in us despite the doubt.
When we broke apart, Elias's eyes were intense. "We do this together. No more secrets between us. Promise me."
"I promise," I whispered. "No more secrets."
We took his car to the library, arriving just after midnight. The building was dark, closed hours ago. The street was empty except for one figure standing in the shadows near the entrance.
As we got closer, the figure stepped into the streetlight.
I gasped.
It was my mother's best friend, Diana Wu. A woman I hadn't seen since my mother's funeral sixteen years ago, when my father had cut her out of our lives completely.
"Nora," she said, her voice thick with emotion. "I'm so sorry I couldn't reach you sooner. But you're in terrible danger. Your father—" She looked at Elias. "Both of you are. You need to hear the truth about what really happened to your mother. And why Richard Chen will do anything to keep that truth buried."
My world tilted. "What are you talking about? My mother died of cancer."
Diana's face was grim. "That's what he told you. But Nora... your mother didn't die of cancer."
"Then how—"
"She was murdered. Poisoned with a drug from your father's own pharmaceutical company. And I can prove it."
The words didn't make sense. Couldn't make sense. My mother, murdered? By my own father?
"Why?" My voice broke. "Why would he—"
"Because she found out about his illegal drug trials. About the people who were dying because of his greed. She was going to expose him, turn him in to the authorities. So he killed her and made it look like natural causes." Diana pulled out a flash drive. "This has all the evidence. Medical records, financial documents, witness statements. Everything needed to put Richard Chen in prison for the rest of his life."
Elias stepped forward. "Why bring this to us now? Why wait sixteen years?"
"Because I was scared," Diana admitted. "Richard Chen destroys anyone who threatens him. But now he's planning something worse. He's about to release a new drug he knows is dangerous—a heart medication that will kill people—just to corner the market and destroy the Bennett family's competing product. Hundreds will die. Maybe thousands. I can't let that happen. Not again."
I couldn't breathe. My father had killed my mother. Was about to kill hundreds more. And somehow, I was supposed to stop him.
"What do we do?" I asked.
Diana handed me the flash drive. "You take this to the FBI. You testify. You finish what your mother started."
My hands shook as I took it. The weight of it felt impossibly heavy.
"There's something else," Diana said softly. "Your mother left you letters. She knew she was in danger. She knew Richard might kill her. She wanted you to know the truth when you were old enough to understand."
She handed me a sealed envelope with my mother's handwriting on it: For my daughter, when she's strong enough.
Tears burned my eyes. "I'm not strong enough. I'm scared and broken and—"
"You're exactly strong enough," Elias said firmly. "You survived your father's betrayal. You rebuilt your life from nothing. You stood up to both our families. You're the strongest person I know."
"He's right," Diana said. "You're your mother's daughter. And she would be so proud of you."
Footsteps echoed in the empty street. Multiple footsteps. Coming fast.
Diana's face went white. "They followed you. Run! RUN!"
Men emerged from the shadows. Five, six, maybe more. Professional. Dangerous.
Elias grabbed my hand. "The car!"
We ran, but they were faster. They cut us off, surrounding us. And in the center of them, stepping into the streetlight with a cold smile, was my father.
"Hello, Nora," Richard Chen said. "I believe you have something that belongs to me."