Chapter 40

MR JACOB POV

As I sat across from my wife in our cozy living room, the quiet atmosphere felt almost too still.

The dim light from the lamp cast a soft glow across the room. We had just finished dinner, and the day had been long.

It wasn’t often we found the time to simply sit and talk like this, but tonight felt different. The house was peaceful, and there was a comfortable silence between us.

Suddenly, the silence was broken by the sound of my phone ringing. The shrill noise cut through the calm like a sudden gust of wind.

I reached for the phone, glancing at the screen. The caller ID displayed the name "Daniella."

I raised an eyebrow. "It’s Daniella," I said to my wife, trying to hide the confusion in my voice.

She looked at me with a slight frown, her curiosity piqued. "Daniella? Is she calling about your brother?"

I nodded slowly, unsure of what to expect. "Maybe," I said, the words barely escaping my mouth. For some reason, I had a strange feeling about this call.

It could be anything, but somehow I felt a knot in my stomach. My wife’s eyes were fixed on me, and she leaned in a little closer, waiting for me to say something else.

Before I could react, she spoke again, her voice barely above a whisper. "Maybe she’s calling to tell you that your brother is gone... dead."

The words stung, but they also made me pause. Gone? I had heard rumors that my brother had been in a coma for weeks, but I didn’t know if the situation had worsened.

My heart started to race, and I couldn’t help but feel an anxious pull in my chest. What if she was right? What if this call was telling me something I wasn’t prepared to hear?

Without thinking, I grabbed the phone and quickly swiped to answer. I held it to my ear, my breath catching in my throat.

"Hello?" I said, my voice steady but uncertain.

"Jacob," Daniella’s voice came through the phone, and it sounded strangely calm. "It’s Daniella. I have some news."

I could hear the tension in her voice, but it wasn’t the kind of tension that came from bad news. It was different. I tried to steady my nerves, but my mind was racing.

"Is it about my brother?" I asked, my voice shaking slightly. My wife’s gaze was fixed on me, waiting for me to speak. She had that look in her eyes…the look that said she was hoping for the worst news to be true, for some twisted reason.

"Yes, it’s about him," Daniella said. "But it’s not what you’re thinking. He’s... he’s out of the coma."

I felt the air leave my lungs. I had expected the worst…death, perhaps…but this? This was unexpected. I had hoped, prayed even, for a miracle, but now that it was happening, I wasn’t sure how to feel.

My mind couldn’t process the news properly. Out of the coma? That’s... that’s a good thing, right?

But the shock hit me like a wave, and I couldn’t say anything at first. I stood there, the phone pressed to my ear, trying to figure out how to respond.

I looked at my wife, whose face had shifted from concern to surprise. I could see the eagerness in her eyes, her attention now fully on me. She was waiting for me to say something, anything.

I cleared my throat. "When... when did this happen?" I asked, my voice sounding more composed now.

"Just today," Daniella replied. "He woke up, Jacob. He’s awake."

I took a deep breath, trying to gather myself. This news was both relieving and unsettling.

My brother was awake, but what did that mean for everything else? I knew his recovery wouldn’t be easy, and I wasn’t sure if he would ever be the same again.

"I’ll be there tomorrow morning," I told Daniella, my mind already making plans. "I need to see him. I’ll be at the hospital first thing."

"Alright," Daniella replied, her tone softer now. "I’ll keep you updated."

The call ended, and I stood there for a moment, staring at the phone in my hand. My thoughts were scattered, and it took me a few seconds to process what had just happened.

I turned to my wife, who was now standing, eager to hear what I had to say. "Well?" she asked, her voice full of expectation.

I swallowed hard, still trying to absorb the information. "It’s true," I said, my voice quiet. "He’s out of the coma."

A smile slowly spread across my wife’s face, and I could see the relief in her eyes. She had been worried about my brother’s condition for a while, and now that the news was better than expected, she was overjoyed.

But there was something else in her expression, something that told me she wasn’t just happy for my brother.

"I’m so glad," she said, her voice warm. "But Jacob, you know what this means, right?"

I frowned, still trying to figure out her angle. "What do you mean?"

She stepped closer to me, her eyes gleaming with something that I couldn’t quite place. "It means that my plan... it’s going to work. Everything is falling into place now."

My heart skipped a beat. "What plan?" I asked, my voice suddenly tense.

She smiled, but there was something calculating in her eyes. "I have a plan, Jacob. A plan to finally fix everything. And now, with this news about your brother, it’s the perfect time to put it into action."

I stood there, uncertain. I had no idea what she was talking about, but the way she said it made me feel uneasy. What was her plan? Why did this news make her so happy?

I glanced at her, searching for any clue that could tell me what she was thinking. But she only smiled at me, as if she held all the answers.

"You’ll see soon enough," she said, almost teasingly. "Everything will work out the way it’s supposed to."

I felt a knot form in my stomach. I didn’t know what she meant, but I had a feeling that whatever she was planning was something I wouldn’t be able to control.

I had learned over the years that my wife’s plans often had unexpected consequences. And this time, something told me that I wouldn’t be able to stop what was coming.

As I stood there, I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of plan she had in mind this time. And as I glanced at her face, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something bigger than I realized was about to unfold.

But for now, all I could do was wait and see.

It was a quiet evening in the house when I walked into the living room. My wife, Clara, was sitting on the couch, a smug smile playing at the corners of her lips.

I knew something was on her mind, something that would either make or break everything we had planned.

"Jacob," she began, her voice calm but with an edge of excitement, "you should be jubilating, you should be celebrating that Kenneth is finally out of the coma."

I frowned, not quite understanding. "Celebrating? Why would I do that? He's my stepbrother. We don’t exactly get along."

Clara chuckled softly, almost mockingly. "Oh, come on, Jacob. You're missing the point. Kenneth being awake changes everything. Now we can finally put our plan into motion. Don't you see?"

I paused, her words sinking in slowly. The pieces were starting to come together. "You mean the contract...?" I trailed off, unsure.