CHAPTER 42: WHO HURT YOU?

"Check the old treehouse," My mum whispered in an urgent tone, her eyes boring into mine. "The answers, they’re in the tree house."

I didn’t fully register my mother’s words because of all the noise and chaos in the room. The machines were beeping frantically, and the medical staff were rushing around her bed, checking monitors and adjusting equipment.

"Ma’am, please step outside," the nurse said firmly, guiding me toward the door.

"Hold on, is she okay?" I asked, trying to look over the nurse.

Just wait outside and let us do our job."

As they escorted me out, I managed to get one of the nurses’ numbers so I could receive updates on my mother’s condition.

I thought about waiting outside her room, but I didn’t want anyone to come and discover that I’d seen her.

The fear in my mother’s voice kept echoing in my mind, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that they’d been doing something terrible to her.

I walked back to Erica’s room mindlessly, my thoughts still consumed by my mother’s words. I was surprised to find Erica still sleeping when I entered.

I waited by her side a little longer, feeling conflicted about leaving her alone. What if Cassandra tried something again? But I was already running late for work, and I couldn’t afford to miss any more time.

I made a quick decision and called my personal bodyguard, instructing him to stay with Erica until I could return.

When I finally got to work, the first person I bumped into was Axel. My mind was still a complete mess from seeing my mother so spooked and fragile.

"Is everything alright?" he asked, studying my face with concern.

"Erica’s awake," I said quickly. "She’s doing better. The doctors say she should recover fully."

I started to walk past him, but he caught my arm gently.

"Layla, are you sure you’re okay? You seem..."

"I’m fine," I interrupted, pulling away. "I just have a lot of work to catch up on."

Before he could ask any more questions, I hurried to my office and shut the door behind me.

I tried to focus on work, but my mind kept wandering back to my mother’s terrified face and her cryptic words. I barely managed to get through half of my emails before I gave up and called my private investigator.

"I have some fresh news for you," he said as soon as he answered.

"What did you find?"

"Cassandra and Daniel don’t seem to be living together anymore. They visit each other frequently, but they maintain separate residences."

I would have laughed at the irony if I wasn’t so troubled by everything else. Of course, their perfect little romance was already falling apart.

"Focus more on news about my father," I told him. "I need to know what’s really going on. There’s something bigger happening here."

"Actually, there’s one more thing," he said. "Your mother filed for divorce."

The words hit me like a physical blow. "What? When?"

"A few weeks ago. Right before she was hospitalised."

I sat in stunned silence. My parents’ marriage wasn’t perfect, but I realised I didn’t actually know much about their relationship behind closed doors. I never thought my mother had it in her to take such a big step... she’d always let my father walk all over her.

"Do you have any news on what prompted the divorce?" I asked.

"Not yet, but I’m working on it. The timing is definitely suspicious, though."

"Keep digging," I said. "There has to be a connection."

After I hung up, I couldn’t concentrate on anything else. I closed my laptop and decided to call it a day, despite how tired I was. I needed to visit Erica again, hopefully when she was awake this time.

When I arrived at the hospital, I was relieved to find Erica sitting up in bed, looking much more alert than she had that morning.

"Layla!" she beamed when she saw me. "The nurses told me you came to check on me earlier."

I pulled up a chair beside her bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, but you shouldn’t be stressing yourself coming to see me after work," she scolded gently.

"Stop being so tough and allow me to focus on you for once," I replied firmly.

Erica went quiet for a moment. The calm facade she’d been wearing suddenly faded, and I could see that she was truly affected by whatever had happened to her. There was a vulnerability in her eyes that she rarely let anyone see.

Without hesitation, I climbed into the bed next to her and pulled her into a gentle hug, being careful of her broken arm.

"Remember when I failed that important exam because of mental pressure and was scared to tell my father?" I said softly. "You held me just like this and told me everything would be okay."

Erica smiled at the memory, but it was a sad, painful smile, like it hurt to remember happier times.

"Let me be there for you now," I continued. "Tell me what really happened."

She took a shaky breath. "I had just gotten home from the grocery store. Then I called to check on you. Out of nowhere, three men burst out and started wrecking my place. They were tossing me around like a rag doll, and I was terrified they were going to do worse."

"But they didn’t?"

"No. It was clear they only wanted to scare me. They kept saying things like ’this is what happens when you don’t mind your own business’ and ’stay away from things that don’t concern you.’"

My blood boiled. "I’m going to make Cassandra pay for this."

"No!" Erica said vehemently, gripping my hand. "It wasn’t her."

I stared at her in surprise. "How can you be so sure?"

The look on Erica’s face told me she was hiding something important. She knew something she didn’t want to share.

"Erica," I said slowly, "who hurt you?"