Chapter 3

"I'm not here to argue." Marissa set the flowers on the bedside table and rubbed her hands together awkwardly. "There's actually something I wanted to discuss with you.

"Well… Chloe took your car out the other day and got into an accident with a Porsche. Nobody was hurt, but… she doesn't have a driver's license."

I closed my eyes briefly. "And?"

"The traffic police said driving without a license could mean detention. Since the car is registered in your name, could you go down to the station and tell them you were the one driving?"

"Marissa." I cut her off. "You're asking me—a concussion patient lying in a hospital bed—to go to the police station and claim I was driving?"

"Dad, she's my future child's aunt! If she gets arrested, Tyler will never forgive me!"

I looked at the person standing in front of me.

Twenty-eight years ago, Diane had spent sixteen hours in labor bringing her into this world. After Diane passed away, I built my business and raised Marissa single-handedly. The sacrifices I made for her were things she would never truly understand.

Now she was standing beside my hospital bed, asking me to take the fall for an outsider who had stolen my car.

I raised my hand and slapped her. The sound cracked through the room.

"Get out."

Marissa covered her face, not saying another word.

As she turned to leave, she knocked the cheap bouquet onto the floor and then stepped on it.

That night, at nine o'clock, the hospital room door opened again. This time, it wasn't one person. It was an entire group.

Tyler walked in first.

Behind him came Linda, Linda's sister, Deborah Mercer, and my wonderful daughter, Marissa.

Tyler carried a large manila envelope in his hand. He walked over to my bed, opened it, and slapped a document down onto my blanket.

"Property Transfer Agreement"

Recipient: Marissa Langford.

Property: Penthouse Apartment, Emerald Bay Residences, East End.

Estimated Market Value: $12 million.

"Mr. Gerald Langford." Tyler used my full name. "You don't need to worry about Chloe's situation anymore. I'll take care of the police myself.

"But this apartment? You need to transfer it to Marissa.

"Consider it compensation for the months of abuse you've put me through: the insults, the hitting, and the emotional trauma."

Linda immediately chimed in from the side, her voice sharp enough to cut glass, "Exactly! What kind of father-in-law treats his son-in-law like this?"

Marissa stood at the back of the room holding a pen. She stepped forward and placed it beside my hand. "Dad, just sign it. If you do, we'll still be family."

"If you don't, then pretend you never had a daughter. And if you die in this hospital, don't expect anyone to collect your body."

I'd prepared myself for this, or at least I'd thought I had. But when the moment truly came, the hand holding that pen still trembled.

"Marissa, are you really willing to push your own father this far for the sake of a man?"

She turned her head away and muttered, "When you froze my cards, you didn't seem to think of me as your daughter either."

Tyler tapped impatiently against the bed rail. "So? Are you signing or not? If not, we're leaving. Nobody's forcing you."

I lowered my eyes. "Fine. I'll sign."

The pen touched the paper. My hand shook so badly that the signature came out crooked and uneven.

But I wrote every letter clearly: Gerald Langford.

Tyler snatched the agreement away and glanced over it. "Let's go. We need to get this notarized."

Linda practically glowed with excitement as she dragged Tyler toward the door.

Marissa followed behind them. "See? Things work out when you're reasonable."

Then she left.

The door closed.

Their footsteps and laughter gradually faded down the hallway.

I reached beneath my pillow and pulled out the voice recorder.

Everything they'd said since that afternoon—Marissa's, Tyler's, and Linda's words…

Every single sentence had been recorded.

I pressed stop. Then I picked up my phone and sent a message to Victor.

"Victor, regarding the Emerald Bay apartment... when will the paperwork for the bridge loan secured against the property become official?"

His reply came instantly. "The paperwork is complete.

"As soon as the transfer goes through, the debt transfers with the property. The recipient assumes joint liability automatically."

I put down my phone and looked at the pen they'd left behind on the bedside table.

They wanted my apartment?

Fine.

Then they could take the $50 million of debt that came with it, too.