Stolen Identity: Mute Heiress

Chapter 208: I Loved Nancy

Karen trembled in the chair. Her whole body shook from pain and fear. Blood poured from her foot as the doctor tried to clean it up. Her screams had faded into low sobs now, and her breath came in short, sharp gasps.

She looked up weakly at the doctor. His face was unreadable. He looked like someone who had done this many times before.

He didn’t say anything to her as he worked. ”Try not to move,” he said in a calm, almost bored voice. ”Or it will hurt more.”

Karen clenched her jaw, trying not to cry out again as he cleaned the wound with alcohol. The alcohol stung like fire and her hands gripped the arms of the chair tightly, her nails digging into the wood.

When he was done, he wrapped the toe or what was left of it in thick bandages and used a strip of cloth to tie it firmly. Then he packed up his tools, wiped his hands, and left without another word.

As the door shut behind him, Karen slumped forward, her body shaking with pain. Her forehead rested on her bound hands. Her toe throbbed so badly she thought she would pass out.

She had known Ryan was dangerous and cruel still nothing had prepared her for this. And yet, she still didn’t plan to talk. At least, not everything since he planned to kill her anyway.

Her thoughts drifted to Genevieve. Genevieve stood to inherit all he had as long as he didn’t know the truth.

It didn’t matter that he now knew she was not his biological daughter. Genevieve was invaluable to him now as Dawn Hank and he wouldn’t get rid of her. Who knows? He might have even grown fond of her.

Karen sniffed and wiped her nose on her sleeve. She didn’t have much strength left. But she still had her brain. And a few secrets she’d rather die with.

Just then, the door creaked open again. Karen stiffened, lifting her head slowly.

Ryan walked in, calm and confident with the gun in hand, but the look in his eyes was more dangerous than the weapon. He dragged a chair from the side and sat down in front of her, legs spread, hands clasped.

”I gave you time to think,” he said quietly. ”Now, tell me what really happened to Nancy. And please don’t waste my time or try my patience.”

Karen laughed bitterly. ”What do you want me to say, Ryan? That she wasn’t killed in a hit and run accident by Kimberly Moore? Or that her parents did not cover up the case? I know you found out about the role I played and that I was paid by the Moores to give a false testimony in court and that was why you wanted to kill me. So, what else do you want me to say?”

Ryan didn’t speak for a moment. His eyes burned into her, steady and unblinking. ”Why didn’t you mention at any point that she was pregnant when she was hit and she had a baby before she died?”

Karen’s heart skipped a beat and her eyes widened. How did he find out about that?

Ryan’s jaw tightened. ”I see you’re surprised that I found out about it.”

Karen swallowed. ”Nancy asked me not to say anything to you if you ever asked.”

Ryan’s eyes narrowed. ”Do I look like an idiot to you? Why would she say that when she was carrying my baby?”

”Because you abandoned her after giving her false hope. I was there when your text came in. You told her you didn’t want to have anything to do with her anymore and you were leaving the country. Do you have any idea what that text did to her?”

”I never sent any such text,” Ryan growled.

”You did! I saw the text myself, and all her attempts to reach you failed. She even went to your house trying to find you but your parents wouldn’t let her get past the gate. They said you left the country and didn’t want anything to do with the child she was carrying and neither did they. If you didn’t send the text, then where the fuck were you when she needed you the most?” Karen snarled at him with what little strength she had.

Seeing how angry she was, Ryan could tell she seemed to be telling the truth now. ”I’m not here to explain myself to you. I’m asking you to tell me why you left out the fact that she was pregnant and had a child. I thought she had an abortion.”

”And I told you why! I wish she aborted that stupid pregnancy. Heaven knows I asked her to get rid of it from the moment she found out about it. I told her she wasn’t supposed to keep the child of someone like you but she wouldn’t listen to me. She insisted you loved her. She believed in you until your text came in. You ruined her life.”

”I didn’t send her any text!” Ryan yelled angrily. ”I didn’t even have my phone! I went to bed one night and woke up the next morning in a plane with no phone or money. My parents sent me away with nothing. I tried to reach Nancy. I did my best to contact her but she wouldn’t even take my calls and then I received the text that I didn’t have to worry about her anymore because she was having an abortion and moving on with some other guy. Do you have any idea how heartbroken or devastated I was? I didn’t return to the country for a long time. I returned only to find out she was dead.”

Karen frowned. ”What guy? Nancy was never with another guy. And she lost her phone. I think it was after she went to your house. Someone snatched it from her by the road.”

Ryan ran his fingers through his hair. ”I know. I figured it out. It was all my parents. I found out about it before they died.”

”I guess they were the ones who told you she kept the pregnancy,” Karen asked.

Ryan drew a deep breath, but it didn’t take away the lump that had been lodged in his chest ever since he found out what his parents had done.

He didn’t speak for a moment. And when he did he looked at her again, ”What really happened to the baby?”

Karen hesitated for a moment looking at Ryan. ”You really did not abandon her?”

”I didn’t. I loved Nancy. There was no reason to abandon her. Think, Karen. If you’re doing this out of loyalty to Nancy as you want me to believe, don’t you think Nancy will want our child to meet me? What could be better than giving all that Nancy’s murderer owned to Nancy’s child?” Ryan asked, and Karen raised a brow.

”And Genevieve? What do you intend to do with her when she stops being useful to you?” Karen asked, ignoring his question.

”We both know Genevieve isn’t my biological child. I did you a favor by raising her as my own all these years even when I knew she wasn’t mine. I don’t owe either you or Genevieve anything. As a matter of fact I should kill you for trying to deceive me...” he trailed off and then frowned. ”Did you come into my life because you thought I abandoned Nancy and it was all some part of your revenge scheme?”

”I felt bad that I took money from the Moores to give a false testimony. I still wanted them to pay for what they did. I hoped you’d help her get justice if you knew the truth, and that was the reason I anonymously sent the messages to you while working as a maid in your house since we had never met. At some point I got the idea to extort money from your family by claiming I was pregnant for you. I had the idea I’d be paid off,” she admitted.

”What really happened?” Ryan asked again.

”It’s as you know already. Kimberly and her friends were drunk driving after one of their high-school parties. They hit Nancy while she was waiting by the roadside for me to bring a cab so we can go to the hospital. She was having labour signs. I saw Kimberly’s face. She was driving the car. I called an ambulance. It arrived. An emergency operation was done to bring out the baby,” she said with a shrug.

”So the child did survive?” Ryan asked, holding his breath.

”Promise me you won’t hurt Genevieve...”

”I don’t have any reason to hurt her as long as she doesn’t get in my way. At the moment I have set her up to marry a billionaire. I have secured her future. Now tell me about my child, Karen. Where is my child? Is it a boy or a girl?”

”Do you still intend to kill me?” She asked, and Ryan sighed deeply.

”Now that you’ve explained, I’ve got a clearer picture of things. I thought you betrayed her, but I understand now that you did all you did because you thought I betrayed her,” he said, and she nodded.

”I couldn’t raise him so I left him with my sister and she left him at the orphanage home. He was adopted by a wealthy family. His name is Callan Quinn.”

”Thanks for the information,” he said as he rose.

”So, I can leave now, right? You’re going to compensate...” before she could finish speaking, he shot her twice in the stomach.

”That’s not for what you did to me. It’s for what you did to Genevieve and for blackmailing her. Even someone as immoral as myself finds that disturbing,” he said before walking away.