Faking His Death to Expose Her Cheating Husband

My mom was in the middle of heart bypass surgery. Her chest had just been opened,

when the lead surgeon took a phone call and tried to walk out with every last member of the medical team.

His face was frantic, his eyes wide with fear.

"Ma'am, Mr. Delgado's secretary, Miss Simmons, is hemorrhaging. He says we have to get over there right now!"

I slapped him across the face.

"The Winfield family has supported you for years. Was it so you could go pledge your loyalty to Alfred Delgado?!"

Only then did the doctor stay and finish the operation.

That evening, Alfred came to the recovery room to check on my mom, and the second he saw me, he blew up.

"Shelagh Winfield, Scarlett Simmons's pregnant and she was hemorrhaging. Why wouldn't you let the doctor go? Do you have any idea? She almost lost the baby just now!"

"I really never saw it before. How did you turn into someone this vicious!"

I grabbed Alfred by the tie, glaring at him, my teeth clenched as I demanded an answer.

"My mom's chest was wide open, and you told the lead surgeon to leave. Alfred, where's your brain? Where's your heart?!"

"She's a pregnant woman. If something's wrong, she goes to obstetrics. What does she need my mom's surgeon for? Were you trying to kill my mother?!"

Alfred backed off and slid into a fawning smile.

"All right, all right, it was just a joke. My fault."

Then he left.

I thought it was over.

But the moment I left the hospital that night, I got a call from the lead surgeon.

"Ma'am, Mr. Delgado wheeled your mother out of the ICU. I'm afraid the old lady won't make it!"

I rushed back like a madwoman.

I saw my mom in the hospital lobby, gasping hard for air, while Alfred and Scarlett laughed like they'd lost their minds.

I dialed the encrypted phone that had been placed in my hands only ten days ago.

"Dad, please come home…"

——

The call had barely ended

when Alfred snatched the phone out of my hand.

He glanced at the bulky, old-fashioned model in his palm and let out a grating sneer.

"Shelagh, your brain really must be broken. A two-digit phone number. Who do you think you're scaring, some idiot?!"

"That perfect, oh-so-wonderful father of yours, the one who loved you and your mom so much, fell into the ocean ten days ago when his plane went down. He's shark food by now! What's the point of putting on this act?!"

The instant Alfred finished,

a burst of laughter rose up behind him.

"Enough, Ms. Winfield, get your head straight. Ten days ago, the second your dad went splash into the sea, you Winfields became a pack of strays!"

"Stop putting on those airs like you're still the heiress. You're upsetting our Alfred…"

He cast a glance at the hospital bed behind him.

"And your mom's the one who suffers for it!"

The words had barely left his mouth when a ragged, wheezing sound came from the bed behind him.

I lunged forward two steps and shoved him aside.

My mom's chest was heaving violently, and even as she fought for every breath, her face was still blue.

My heart shot up into my throat. I spun to face the doctor standing off to the side.

"Who wheeled my mother out here?!"

"Get her back into the recovery room, now!"

Dr. Finch, the surgeon who'd operated on my mom, watched her and a flash of panic crossed his eyes.

He was about to step forward and wheel her away,

when Alfred kicked out at him, gripping the bed frame and roaring,

"I'd like to see who dares move her today!"

I stared at Alfred, my eyes full of disbelief.

"What do you mean by that?!"

"Can't you see my mom is in distress?! She just had bypass surgery. Rapid, labored breathing could kill her! Move!"

I shoved Alfred aside and stepped up to wheel my mom away,

but before my hands could even touch the bed,