Chapter 10

NATALIE’S POV

My eyes were wide in panic as I re-read the same words over and over again.

[ Receipt for Mrs Davis hospital settlement paid by Anonymous. Signed by St.Luis.]

“Anonymous?” The word echoed in my mind, the weight of it sinking in. Who would do this? I couldn’t make sense of it.

My fingers trembled as I zoomed in on the receipt. I should’ve been relieved, it meant Mrs. Davis was taken care of but instead, a sickening knot twisted in my stomach. The only people who knew about her were Lucas, me… and Malcolm.

I exhaled shakily trying not to believe what my mind screamed. Why would Malcolm pay for her treatment without consulting me? I’d been the one handling the payments, year after year. But now? Now it suddenly occurred to him to pay!? It felt like he’d crossed a line.

A cold fury burned through me and without thinking, I dialed his number, the rage bubbling up. But before I could press the call, another email notification popped up and this time My heart stalled.

New email from Caldwell Co.: Urgent Legal Notice

I clicked it open, my hands cold, my mind barely able to process what I was seeing. The letter from Caldwell Co. burned into my vision, and I felt my entire world tilt.

Notice of Breach—Immediate Action Required.

My hands went clammy. I swallowed, but the lump in my throat only grew. My family had frozen my assets. All my hard work, all my independence, stripped away in one single move. Caldwell Co. had slapped a lawsuit on me, accusing me of everything they could.

Unauthorized possession of proprietary information. Breach of confidentiality. Solicitation of key personnel.

I couldn’t breathe. My heart hammered painfully against my rib cage as I tried to find an anchor but everything was slipping.

The walls were closing in on me, my breathing had turned ragged, violent even as I stumbled back against the hospital wall, trying to focus, to think but I was choking on sobs just as it started to rain heavily.

My sobs grew louder as the rain pattered down heavily, drowning my cries and sorrow.

My eyes glanced at the email and the reality of things hit me again when I saw that I had been given a time deadline to move out of anything Caldwell owned or was bought using earnings from Caldwell. That meant everything!

My own family had done this to me. Making me see just how far they were willing to go to prove that I was dispensable.

My phone buzzed again, but this time, it was Becks calling. I didn’t want to answer her calls as my sobs started to die into a whisper, my head ached and my body only wanted to wither away but Becks was relentless. I hesitated before answering, unsure if she would notice that my world had just crumbled from my voice alone.

I lifted the phone to my ear, and her voice rushed through the line, frantic. “Natty! What the hell is going on? Why didn’t you tell me?”

I blinked back the tears threatening to fall again. “Vanessa is on TV. Live. She’s in an interview—talking about how she’s Lucas’s fiancée now.”

Becks’ voice cracked. “This is bad, Natty. Why didn’t you say something? I—I assumed you two fought. But this… this isn’t just a fight, is it?” But I couldn’t even bring myself to answer any of her questions.

I started to cry as more emotional weight threatened to cave in on me. Becks was about to say something but instead paused.

“Natty?” She called as if she were there with me.

“What’s wrong?” how was I supposed to tell her that I had less than 5 hours to move out of the only place I called home. That my house, car, most of my business outfits and even my equipment had been foreclosed?

I shook my head, but my vision blurred and my throat clogged. My chest felt tight, suffocating and then, the trembling sobs came. “Becks… I’ve lost everything. Everything I’ve worked for. My house. My savings. My life. It’s all gone.”

I could hear Becks trying to steady herself on the other end of the line. “Tell me where you are, Natty. I’ll come. We’ll fix this. You’ll come to the hotel with me, okay? Just tell me where you are.”

I shook my head, the tears falling freely now. My eyes are heavy and a dangerous headache blinding me “I can’t. I can’t come to the hotel. I… I have less than four hours to get everything out of my house. They served me like the kings and queens they are. Caldwell Co.—they’re suing me for everything. I’m broke. I don’t have anywhere to go.” My voice trembled.

This wasn’t just some setback. This was everything I had worked for, slipping through my fingers rapidly.

Becks’ voice was gentle, pleading. “Natty, you’re not alone in this. I’m coming to you. You don’t have to do this alone.”

I wiped my face with the back of my hand. “I—I didn’t want to ask. I didn’t want to be a burden…”

“You’re not a burden. Never have been and Never will,” Becks insisted. “I’m already on my way to St. Luis. I’ll be there in minutes.”

My heart skipped. “You’ve already left?”

Becks’s tone softened. “Of course. And you’re going to let me help, okay? We’ll be alright, ok?”

I nodded, a small sliver of comfort and gratitude creeping in and suddenly, the air felt a bit breathable. I was choking with sobs, wasn’t wanting to pull my hair in anguish.

“Becks…” I called just before she could hang up “Thank you — for everything,” but Becks laughed “you should thank me when I whoop Vanessa’s ass” and despite my condition, I laughed.

“Don’t thank me, what are besties for?” She asked and I nodded my head as though She was here.

“Hang tight,” she said and a loud click echoed. I sighed in relief, not nothing to stand up, the weight of everything still hanging over my head but at least I wasn’t alone.

When Becks arrived, I barely had the energy to move. She guided me towards the car, offering me wipes and gently telling me not to let the Caldwells or Lucas see me like this as they didn’t deserve my tears. I nodded, though I didn’t feel like myself.

Then, we made our way to the house—the one I had once called home, where everything had fallen apart.

I barely recognized it now. The door unlocked easily, a haunting reminder of how quickly things had changed. I stepped inside, the emptiness of it all pressing on my chest.

I walked past the living room we had once shared, my steps slow, deliberate. The space we had planned for our future now felt foreign to me. I didn’t have the luxury of sentimentality. I was here to gather what was mine and leave after all I had three hours left.

I walked up the stairs, the railing shining with a dark reminder. I shook my head , unwilling to let my mind wander to things that broke my heart and started to gather my things quickly from my closet and shove into an open box, nearly done I remembered that I had essentials in the bathroom. A part of me wanted to leave it as a stark reminder to Lucas that I had been here, that I had infiltrated his house without his knowledge and took everything but he wasn’t worth it.

I sighed in sadness and entered the bathroom reaching for my essentials when something stopped me.

My brows furrowed in disbelief, my legs hunted from the mere thought of getting a closer look but disbelieving curiosity got the better of me and I walked closer.

My heart thundered in my chest, my eyes glassy as I walked to the sink and there, lying on the sink so carelessly , was a pregnancy strip test.

No.

I stumbled back, knocking over a bottle of perfume. It shattered, the scent flooding the room like a mocking memory.

I reached out, my fingers trembling as I picked it up. The words Pregnant stared back at me through the stick , a sharp pain lancing through my chest.

This wasn’t mine.

My mind spun in circles at the revelation.

It couldn’t even be mine.

I barely had time to process the word ‘pregnant’ when the door slammed. A thud—louder than my heartbeat.

“How fucking dare you?” Lucas’s voice was unmistakable, filled with fury. I whipped around to see him standing in the doorway, his eyes burning with accusation.

Lucas stood there, phone in one hand, fury in the other.

“And What the fuck is this, Natalie?”

I gulped and held my bag tightly with the stick buried inside.