Chapter 12 - Garrett’s Trap
Dr. Vale crossed the ballroom.
Guests moved aside.
Garrett addressed the room as if every second had been rehearsed.
“My wife has been struggling.”
Alessia heard whispers.
He continued.
“Episodes of paranoia. Anger. Emotional instability.”
Someone near the fountain lowered a champagne glass.
Garrett looked pained.
Perfectly pained.
“I tried to protect her privacy.”
Alessia almost admired the performance.
Almost.
Evelyn walked to Lily.
Cecilia immediately stepped between them.
Evelyn smiled.
“I only want to comfort my granddaughter.”
“She isn’t your granddaughter,” Cecilia said.
A few nearby guests turned.
Evelyn’s smile vanished.
On the stage, Garrett held out one hand toward Alessia.
“Please. Let us help you.”
Alessia looked at Dr. Vale.
“You examined me?”
Vale swallowed.
Garrett answered.
“He reviewed your history.”
“What history?”
“Alessia.”
“No. Tell me.”
The room was silent.
Garrett lowered his voice.
“You don’t remember some of your episodes.”
There it was.
Gaslighting made public.
Alessia felt rage rise through her.
She controlled it.
“Dr. Vale?”
Vale looked at Garrett.
Then at Jonathan.
Then at the 2 investigators standing near the back doors.
He took a breath.
“No.”
Garrett’s face changed.
Alessia tilted her head.
“No what?”
Vale’s voice shook.
“I never examined Mrs. Moretti.”
Silence.
Garrett stared at him.
“What are you doing?”
Vale continued.
“The documents bearing my name were prepared at Mr. Hale’s request.”
A woman near the front gasped.
Garrett stepped toward him.
“You lying coward.”
Jonathan moved forward.
“Careful, Garrett.”
Garrett looked around.
The whispers grew louder.
Evelyn approached the stage.
“Stephen is confused.”
Vale turned toward her.
“No, Evelyn. I’m finished being confused.”
Her face went white.
He continued.
“I falsified records. I signed assessments I had no medical basis to make. I prescribed medication to Mrs. Hale 5 years ago.”
Garrett froze.
Evelyn whispered, “Stop.”
Vale looked at her.
“I should have stopped 5 years ago.”
The ballroom erupted with murmurs.
Alessia stepped onto the stage.
Garrett stared at her.
“You planned this.”
“No.”
“You set me up.”
“You did that yourself.”
His eyes moved toward Jonathan.
Then toward the doors.
For the first time, he noticed the investigators.
His face changed.
Evelyn saw them too.
She whispered something to Garrett.
He looked toward Lily.
Alessia saw it.
So did Cecilia.
Cecilia moved Lily farther away.
Garrett suddenly smiled.
“You think this proves anything?”
Alessia held his gaze.
“It proves enough.”
“No. It proves a dishonest doctor is trying to save himself.”
“And the 2.8 million dollars?”
Garrett’s smile disappeared.
“The forged trust amendment?”
He said nothing.
“The hidden room?”
Evelyn went pale.
Alessia continued.
“The recordings of you coaching my daughter?”
Garrett looked toward Lily again.
This time his expression was pure hatred.
Alessia stepped down from the stage.
“You should stop looking at her.”
“Why?”
“Because she isn’t your way out anymore.”
Garrett laughed harshly.
“You think you’ve won?”
Alessia did not answer.
He moved closer.
“You don’t even know what your father did.”
The room quieted.
Alessia stared at him.
“What did he do?”
Evelyn said sharply, “Garrett.”
He ignored her.
“Your perfect father destroyed mine.”
“Your father stole from him.”
“He destroyed him.”
“He reported a crime.”
Garrett’s jaw tightened.
“He took everything.”
“So you married me?”
Silence.
That silence answered.
A few guests reacted audibly.
Alessia’s voice dropped.
“You knew who I was before we met.”
Garrett looked at her.
“Yes.”
The word came out almost proudly.
Alessia felt the last piece of her marriage die.
“You followed me.”
“Yes.”
“You used Lily to get close to me.”
Garrett’s eyes flicked toward the crowd.
He realized too late how much he had admitted.
Evelyn stepped toward him.
“Enough.”
Alessia looked at her.
“No. Let him talk.”
Garrett laughed.
“You want the truth?”
“Yes.”
“Your father thought he could humiliate my mother and walk away.”
Evelyn’s voice sharpened.
“Garrett.”
“He threatened us.”
“Stop.”
“He said we’d never touch the trust.”
The room went silent again.
Jonathan slowly removed his phone from his pocket.
It was recording.
Alessia’s heartbeat increased.
“You were there the morning he died.”
Garrett stared at her.
He realized.
The audio.
Somehow she knew.
His expression changed.
“Who told you?”
“My father did.”
“That’s impossible.”
“His cardiac monitor recorded you.”
Evelyn staggered backward.
Garrett turned toward her.
For 2 seconds, they simply stared at one another.
Then Garrett whispered, “You said there was no recording.”
Evelyn hissed, “Shut up.”
Alessia felt the room shift.
The trap was no longer Garrett’s.
It belonged to her.
But then Lily screamed.
Everyone turned.
May you like
Evelyn had slipped around Cecilia.
Her hand was wrapped tightly around Lily’s wrist.
