9. Chris

Chapter 9

Chris

" H e's awake," a woman calls as my eyes flutter open.

As my vision adjusts, a man's face comes into view. The noise is overwhelming—people talking over one another, the same beeping sound from before, and the shuffling of who the fuck knows what. The man flashes a light into my eyes, adding to my overstimulation.

"What happened?" I manage. My throat is on fire. I grip the front of my neck, and a nurse approaches with a cup of water with a straw, placing the tip of it in my mouth like I'm a damn child.

"You had another cardiac episode, Mr. Blake," the man in a white coat replies. "It wasn't a full heart attack, but you lost consciousness. Can you tell me what year it is?"

"2023."

"Good, do you know what day it is? "

"Friday, I'm… Fuck! I'm supposed to be getting married." In an instant, I'm flooded with memories of the accident on the way to the venue.

My heart racing. Airbags deploying and everything going black.

"Where's my aide, Cara?"

"I think it's best if you discuss it with your father. He's right outside. I'll bring him in once the nurses check your vitals."

A woman in pink scrubs approaches, takes my temperature, and tests my oxygen levels and blood pressure. When it all checks out, my father enters the room with a member of his secret service, and everyone files out. The man in all black scans the room and nods to my father before leaving us alone.

"Christopher," he says flatly, a slight gruffness in his tone. "How are you feeling?"

"Where's Cara?"

"She should be the least of your worries."

" Where is she? "

"You fucking killed her!" my father roars, and my heart jumps into my throat. Composing himself, he calmly adds, "Her neck snapped when the airbag deployed."

"No," I breathe, choking back a sob. "You're lying. "

"I'm sorry, Chris. She died on impact," he continues. "We took care of it. You should be more concerned about how your brother married your fiancée."

"She's… dead? " He nods. "And the news about Alex, that was real?" I thought it was all a dream. How the hell did Alex end up marrying Jaclyn?

"Jerry and I cleaned up the mess with the accident and paid off far too many people who know that you're here. You're supposed to be getting ready to go on your honeymoon with his daughter."

"She actually married him?"

He nods again and sighs. "Yes… and no. Alex pretended to be you. It was that, or politically destroying both of our families. If word got out that you killed someone…" Rubbing his hand over his face, he blows out a long breath. "You're legally married to Jaclyn as soon as you file the paperwork."

"And he just did it out of the goodness of his heart?" I laugh, and it hurts my chest and stomach. "I don't buy it."

My father shrugs off his jacket and takes a seat. "Your brother and I may not see eye-to-eye when it comes to policy, but he would likely be harmed by your actions—just as much as Jaclyn. He's not exactly selfless here. You share the same last name; he'd be guilty by association."

"It was an accident."

"Don't lie to me," he growls. "I saw the evidence before it was destroyed. We had to stage it so that she got in the accident by herself."

"And Jaclyn?" I swallow hard. "Does she know?"

"About how the accident happened? No, but it's only a matter of time before Alex tells her. Jaclyn's a smart woman; even if Alex does tell her, she'll remain your dutiful wife… unless it leaks. Then, she'll have to protect her family." He stands and puts his jacket back on. "I need to get back to your mother. It's been a long day. Alex texted me to say that he'll be here in the morning with Jaclyn. Get some rest and prepare to grovel, in case she already knows."

Without another word, he leaves, and several nurses and doctors enter. "All right, Mr. Blake. I've reviewed all of your tests, and we'll be discharging you in a couple of days. We'll need to monitor your heart and do an echo tomorrow to see how it's doing. You'll also need to meet with a cardiologist regularly to discuss what can be done proactively to prevent another heart attack. We noticed elevated levels of methylphenidate in your system, so we believe that to be the culprit."

I shake my head. "I only take my ADHD medication once in a while." When I remember. "There's no way it could be elevated ."

"I'll add a drug test to the mix to see what else comes up. With how it looks now, you seem to have taken significantly more than your prescription dosage of your ADHD medication." He checks something in his chart, but none of this adds up. Why would I need a drug test when all I do is drink occasionally?

"Maybe I took an extra dose by accident?"

"We'll make sure there's no trace of anything else in your system. You should be out of here by the end of the week; hopefully within a couple of days, if everything looks good. Then, we'll have someone monitor you at home."

"I'm supposed to leave for my honeymoon tomorrow night."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Blake. I can't recommend traveling this soon. You'll have to postpone, at least until we can get your blood pressure under control."

I need to get the fuck out of here, or my brother is going to sink his teeth into what's mine.