Chapter 10 - THE HOSPITAL NIGHT
The contractions were not yet labor.
That was the blessing.
The hospital called it “uterine irritability caused by trauma and stress,” which sounded almost insultingly polite.
Savannah spent the night on monitors while Olivia sat beside her with coffee and Rachel worked from a corner chair like vengeance in heels.
At midnight the baby’s heartbeat dipped once, then recovered.
Savannah cried quietly after that because she finally let herself imagine the worst.
Olivia squeezed her hand.
“He’s still with you.”
Rachel lowered her laptop.
“And your father’s accounting records are about to betray him.”
The independent forensic accountant had already traced large trust disbursements. Many went exactly where Savannah suspected:
Brianna’s private tuition.
Brianna’s wedding venue.
Two of Robert’s business tax payments.
One business payroll emergency.
Three credit-card payoffs on Patricia’s account.
Total questionable diversions: more than $50,000.
The trust had not been a mistaken family reserve. It had been a private family ATM with Savannah’s name on it.
Then another file surfaced.
Robert had signed annual trustee certifications stating each expenditure matched Helen Brooks’s intent “for Savannah’s education, stability, and future family needs.”
Rachel looked almost delighted.
“He lied in writing for years.”
Savannah closed her eyes.
All the times she had felt guilty for being angry. All the times she had been told family is messy. Family helps family. Don’t keep score.
Someone had been keeping score all along. It just wasn’t her.
At 1:40 a.m., Damon texted Brianna from the hospital waiting room.
She’s here. She says she won’t leave until she sees Savannah.
“She” was Patricia.
Savannah almost laughed.
Of course her mother chose Labor & Delivery for another performance.
Rachel marched downstairs before anyone else could stop her.
She came back ten minutes later.
“She told security that as grandmother she had a right to check on you.”
Savannah snorted.
“And?”
“And I showed them the order.”
Good.
Then Olivia’s eyes narrowed at the monitor.
“What?”
“Nothing. Just another small contraction.”
The doctor adjusted medication and told Savannah to rest.
Instead she checked her email.
There was one from the bank’s fraud division.
Because the account had been partially controlled under an old structure, the bank required a fresh beneficiary declaration once the hold was lifted.
Attached was a draft form Robert had submitted the week before the shower.
Suggested co-beneficiary in emergency event:
Brianna Brooks.
Savannah stared.
He had started paperwork before the party. Before the splash. Before the hospital.
Not spontaneous theft.
Planned succession.
If anything happened to Savannah, the remaining money would drift neatly toward Brianna—and from there to Robert.
The next morning Brianna arrived with swollen eyes and no makeup.
“She told me I’m dead to her,” Brianna whispered.
Savannah looked at her twin for a long moment.
“How does it feel?”
Brianna started crying.
And for the first time in their lives, Savannah did not rush to comfort her.
Then the doctor walked in with a serious face and said, “Savannah, if we get one more strong contraction pattern like last night, we may need to keep you until delivery.”
May you like
The baby had survived the pool.
Now he had to survive the aftermath.
