Chapter 57 Chapter 57
Hailey’s POV
I sat frozen, trying to process what my mother had just told me. She’d almost died. Been stabbed multiple times and left bleeding in our living room.
“I can’t believe this,” I whispered. “You almost lost your life and I never knew.”
“There’s more,” my mother said, her voice heavy with exhaustion and pain. “It got worse.”
“How could it possibly get worse?” I asked.
“I needed surgery,” Barbara continued. “Multiple operations, actually. The stab wounds had damaged internal organs, caused massive blood loss. The doctors said I’d die without immediate intervention.”
“But you had insurance, right? Dad made money……”
“The robbers took everything, Hailey,” she interrupted. “Not just loose cash or jewelry. They cleaned out our bank accounts, our safe, everything of value we owned. It was systematic, planned. They wanted to make sure we couldn’t fight back.”
My stomach twisted. “So what happened?”
“Your father was desperate,” Barbara said, fresh tears streaming down her face. “I was dying. The hospital wouldn’t perform the surgery without payment upfront, and we had nothing. No money, no assets we could liquidate quickly enough.”
“So?” I asked, though dread was already pooling in my gut.
“He stole from the Morellis,” she said quietly. “A jade stone. Extremely valuable, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. He thought if he could just take it, sell it quickly, get me the surgery, maybe he could figure out how to make it right later.”
“But they found out?” I said.
“Of course they found out,” Barbara confirmed. “You can’t steal from people like that and expect them not to notice. Thomas knew someone who might buy the jade, or at least appraise it.”
“Elena,” I breathed. “That’s why he went to her shop? Right?”
“Yes,” my mother said. “Elena Alejandro had a reputation for dealing in high-end jewelry, both legitimate and less so. Thomas thought she could help him. He went to her shop that night, showed her the jade.”
“And then what happened?”
“I don’t know all the details,” Barbara admitted. “Thomas never made it home to tell me. But based on what I’ve pieced together over the years, the Morellis knew he’d stolen from them. They’d been watching him, waiting to see what he’d do with it.”
She paused, wiping her eyes.
“Elena closed her shop early that night after Thomas left. She got that phone call she thought was from her husband and rushed out. Then she died in what was reported as an accident.”
“But it wasn’t an accident,” I said.
“I don’t think so,” Barbara agreed. “The timing was too perfect. And two days after Elena’s death hit the news, the Morellis came for your father.”
“They killed him,” I whispered.
“Yes,” she said simply. “They made it look like a car accident, just like they did with Elena. But I knew. I knew it was them.”
We sat in silence for a moment, the weight of all this death pressing down on us.
Then something occurred to me. “Mom, the evidence Dad collected. All those records of the Morellis’ crimes. Do you still have them?”
Barbara looked at me, and I saw guilt flash across her face.
“You do,” I said slowly. “You’ve had them all this time.”
“Yes,” she admitted.
Anger suddenly flared through my grief. “You’ve been sitting on evidence that could bring Dad’s killers to justice? For years? Why haven’t you gone to the police?”
“You think I haven’t tried?” Barbara’s voice rose sharply. “You think I didn’t want to see them pay for what they did?”
“Then why…..”
“Because it’s not that simple!” she shouted. “I went to the police, Hailey. Multiple times. I showed them the evidence, told them everything I knew. And you know what happened?”
I shook my head.
“Nothing,” she said bitterly. “Absolutely nothing. The cases would be opened, then quietly closed. Detectives would promise to investigate, then stop returning my calls. I realized the Morellis had people everywhere. Police, judges, prosecutors. You can’t fight them through normal channels.”
She laughed, but it was a hollow, broken sound.
“It’s not easy,” she continued. “Do you think I wanted to sit on this evidence? Do you think I wanted to let your father’s killers walk free? But what choice did I have?”
“You could have kept trying,” I said.
“I did keep trying,” Barbara shot back. “And the Morellis noticed. They started watching me. Following me everywhere I went. Making it clear that if I didn’t stop, they’d finish what they started.”
Her hand moved unconsciously to her scarred side.
“They watched you?” I asked.
“For years,” she confirmed. “Five years, Hailey. I couldn’t make a phone call without wondering if it was tapped. Couldn’t go to the grocery store without seeing one of their people nearby. I lived in constant terror that they’d decide I knew too much, that they’d come for me the way they came for Thomas.”
“When did they stop?” I asked quietly.
“About three years ago,” she said. “I think they finally decided I wasn’t a threat. That I’d been sufficiently scared into silence.”
She looked at me, her expression fierce despite her tears.
“You were lucky they didn’t come after you too,” she said. “I’ve spent every day since Thomas died terrified they’d target you to get to me. That’s why I never told you the truth. I thought if you didn’t know, you’d be safe.”
“But now I’m with Damien,” I said slowly, understanding dawning. “Now I’m pregnant with his child.”
“Now you’re with their sworn enemies,” Barbara said. “The Crimson Syndicate and the Morellis have been at war for decades. And you just became a weapon they can use.”
“That’s why they leaked the video,” I realized.
“Yes,” she confirmed. “And it’s going to get worse, Hailey. So much worse. They won’t stop until you’re dead or until Damien is destroyed. Probably both. The worst is yet to come.”
We both jumped violently as the door opened, my heart leaping into my throat.
But it was just Nina, one of the maid, her expression apologetic as she stood in the doorway.
“I’m so sorry to interrupt,” she said gently. “Am I interrupting?”
“It’s fine,” Barbara said, though her voice was strained. “What is it?”
“Mr. Alejandro has requested to speak with you, Mrs. Cooper,” Nina said. “Privately.”
My mother and I exchanged looks, and I saw fear flicker across her face before she masked it.
“You don’t have to go,” I said quickly.
But my mother was already standing, straightening her clothes.