Chapter 54: THE FAMILY FRACTURES

Victoria’s pov

The woman who had held me when I was sick as a child. The woman who had taught me how to read financial statements and negotiate contracts. The woman who had stood beside me at my wedding and smiled while I promised to love and honor Tehila for the rest of my life.

That same woman had paid someone to make sure Tehila disappeared.

The hospital room door opened and Cole walked in. He looked like he had not slept in days. His shirt was wrinkled and there were dark circles under his eyes.

"You should not be watching this," he said quietly.

"Turn it off then."

Cole grabbed the remote and the screen went black. The silence was worse than the news coverage.

He sat down in the chair beside my bed and rubbed his face with both hands. "The FBI came to see me this morning. They have everything, Dalton. Bank records, phone logs, encrypted messages. They have her on tape meeting with Sienna at a restaurant in Manhattan six weeks after Tehila announced the pregnancy."

My throat closed up. "What did they talk about?"

"Removing obstacles." Cole's voice was flat. "That was the exact phrase Mother used. Removing obstacles to preserve the family legacy."

I tried to sit up but the stitches in my side pulled and I fell back against the pillows. "Did she know about the trafficking?"

"The FBI thinks so. They found transfers dating back almost two years. Small amounts at first, then larger payments after you and Tehila got married." Cole looked at me and his eyes were red. "Mother was paying Sienna to spy on Tehila. To track her movements, her friends, her habits. She was building a file."

The room felt like it was closing in on me. I thought about all the times my mother had asked casual questions about Tehila. Where was she going, who was she meeting, what was she working on. I had thought she was just making conversation.

"She was planning this from the beginning," I said.

"Yes."

"Before the twins. Before anything."

Cole nodded. "The FBI agent said Mother started making payments two weeks after you introduced Tehila to the family. She hated her from the first moment."

I closed my eyes but I could still see my mother's face. The way she had looked at Tehila during family dinners. The tight smile that never reached her eyes. The comments about Tehila's clothes, her career, her background.

I had told myself it would get better. That my mother just needed time to adjust to having a daughter-in-law who was not from their world.

But it had never gotten better and I had done nothing to stop it.

"She enabled everything," I said. "By bringing Sienna into the family. By supporting our relationship. By giving her access to the house and the accounts."

"I know."

"Sienna used Mother's money to fund the trafficking operation. She used Mother's information to target Tehila. She used Mother's connections to hide what she was doing." My voice was getting louder and the machines beside my bed started beeping faster. "Mother gave Sienna everything she needed to destroy us."

Cole stood up and pressed the call button for the nurse. "You need to calm down. Your heart rate is too high."

"How am I supposed to calm down? My mother paid someone to kill my wife. The mother of my children." I looked at Cole and felt tears burning in my eyes. "She nearly killed me too. When Sienna stabbed me, when I was bleeding out on that floor, that was Mother's fault. She put the knife in Sienna's hand."

The nurse rushed in and checked my monitors. She gave me something through the IV that made the room start to blur at the edges.

"You need to rest," she said firmly.

"I need to see my mother."

The nurse looked at Cole and he shook his head. "That is not possible right now."

"I do not care if it is possible. I want to see her." The medication was making my tongue feel thick. "Arrange it, Cole. I need to ask her why."

Cole waited until the nurse left before he spoke again. "The FBI will not allow visitors until after the arraignment. Even then, you would have to go through her lawyers."

"Then go through her lawyers. I do not care what it takes." I grabbed Cole's wrist and held on even though my grip was weak. "I need to look her in the eye and ask her why she hated Tehila so much. Why being a Blackwood mattered more than my happiness. More than my life."

Cole pulled his hand away gently. "I will see what I can do."

He left and I drifted in and out of sleep. The medication pulled me under in waves. I dreamed about my wedding day. My mother standing in the front row wearing navy blue and pearls. Her face carefully neutral as Tehila walked down the aisle.

I had thought she was just being formal. Reserved. I had not seen the hatred underneath.

When I woke up it was dark outside and Cole was back. He was sitting in the chair with his phone in his hand and his face was grim.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I spoke with Mother's attorney. They are not allowing any visitors until after the trial starts." Cole put his phone away. "But I told him you wanted to speak with her. That you had questions."

"And?"

"He said he would pass the message along." Cole was quiet for a moment. "Mother sent something back."

I sat up slowly. My side ached but the pain was duller now. Manageable. "What did she say?"

Cole looked at me and I saw something in his expression that made my stomach drop. Pity. He was looking at me with pity.

"Tell me."

"She said, Tell Dalton I did what I had to do to protect the family name. Tehila was never one of us, and she never deserved to be a Blackwood."