Chapter 1 - Betrayal

Raye's POV 

I checked the smart watch around my wrist for the sixth time in a row in the last ten minutes. My eyebrows creased in concentration, my eyes focused on the road, determined on getting to where I was going on time. I couldn't afford to miss the award ceremony again.

I breathed a sigh of relief when the large hall where the ceremony was being held came into view as I rounded the corner. I hastily dashed out of the car, handing over my car keys to the guard standing in front of the hotel, without a second thought. 

My assistant, Jamie, rushed towards me, her arms flailing in agitation. "Finally, you came right on time. They are just about to announce your name," she announced, pulling me towards a large wooden door.

Just as we both walked in, I heard my name being called out and all eyes were turned on me.

"We are proud to give this award of excellence to Mrs Raye for her immense contributions to the welfare and care of the Saint Peter's hospital department. Her upright attitude and contribution to the humanitarian services of not just her patient but to the people around her has made the hospital grow and it is with utmost pleasure that we present this award to her," the announcer boomed, his loud voice echoing through the loud speakers around the room as I approached confidently to the stage.

He handed me the mic, gesturing for me to say a few words to the audience.

"Thank you and I'll work harder to make sure no patients are left unattended in Saint Peter's hospital," I echoed, taking the award from the hands. The silver award shined brightly against the lights streaming in through the room, highlighting my success. This was a proud moment for me and I deserved every bit of it.

My eyes searched the crowd briefly, a sinking feeling echoing in my head when the faces I had expected to see were nowhere to be found among the sea of guests that had gathered.

Despite that my heart warmed with gratitude and happiness from the loud cheers of the audience as I walked back to my seat. 

"Where's my family? How come none of them are here yet? Did you remind them how important today was?" I asked my assistant immediately I sat down beside her quietly.

"I did. I reminded them but your parents said they wouldn't be able to attend because your sister, Angelica, is also hosting an event in the gallery and they have to support her," Jamie revealed hesitantly, her eyes filled with the usual pity that people looked at me when they saw how my family actually treated me.

"What event? I already checked with them and no event was scheduled for today," I uttered in despair trying to delude myself once again.

"From what I heard from your sister's assistant, the event was planned last minute by your sister," she announced hesitantly, confirming my suspicions.

It was obvious what had happened. Angelica obviously couldn't bear the thought of me taking the spotlight and had decided to do something about it. It was nothing new and Angelica had always been that way. What irked me more was that my father would choose to go to Angelica's event when I had invited him first to mine. 

He wasn't even bothering to hide his blatant favouritism any longer. 

"What about my husband, Antonio? Have you been able to reach him yet? Why isn't he here yet?" I asked impatiently, gnawing the bottom of my lips anxiously.

"I couldn't get a hold of him either. He's not at his office and when I called to check if he was home, nobody answered," she replied, her voice laced with pity.

I frowned, the feeling of hurt foreshadowing the memorable day. I was experiencing a turning point in my life as a successful doctor and none of my family was even here to witness it.

I pulled out my phone from my bag and saw the last message my husband had dropped for me. It read: I won't be able to come to your award ceremony. I'm too busy and swamped with work. I'll see you when you get home.

The pit of my stomach dropped in disappointment. What work kept him so busy that he couldn't have even spared a few minutes of his time to come and support me on such an important day. 

Suddenly a wave of dizziness coursed through my body in quick succession. I tried to ignore it but it wouldn't back down. 

I could hear Jamie trying to call me but her voice sounded hollow and far away, almost like we were both in different rooms instead of beside each other. I felt nauseous and I wanted to throw up badly. I stood up slowly, determined not to make a scene as I barely walked out of the hall without passing out.

What's wrong with me? Why am I feeling this way? Different thoughts ran through my head but nothing could explain what was happening to me. As if it couldn't get any worse, I felt a warm liquid trickling down my nose and to my horror it was my blood. 

I felt faint from the shock, my body went limp as I fell to the floor. Suddenly a pair of hands caught me steadying me lightly on my feet.

"Oh my god you're bleeding. What's wrong with you, Raye?" 

I instantly recognized the familiar voice of my best friend and fellow doctor, Sasha. I breathe out a sigh of relief. She had a worried expression on her face and I noticed she was pulling out her phone from her bag ready to call for help.

"No wait. Don't call anybody, especially Antonio. I don't want him to get worried for nothing," I protested, holding her hands tightly.

"You are bleeding right now. That's the last thing you should be worried about," she snapped but did what I wanted nonetheless.

I smiled gratefully through the pain. "I'm fine. It'll pass. It's no big deal besides you're here now," I said evasively and she glared at me.

"Fine I'll let this pass but you really need to take some time off. You're wearing yourself to the ground taking so many unnecessary responsibilities. You need rest," she pressed stubbornly.

"Yes mother. I'll be sure to take some time off in the near future now will you stop nagging me," I teased and she swatted me playfully across the arm.

I chuckled happily, feeling much better than I did a couple of minutes ago. Sasha always had a way of making me smile even on my most awful day. I was happy to have a friend like her.

"Congratulations on your award,you deserve it," she congratulated, squeezing my hands approvingly. "But what about Antonio? Why isn't he here with you? Isn't today supposed to be your anniversary?" She asked curiously.

Oh right. I'd almost forgotten today was our wedding anniversary. I couldn't even remember the last time we'd celebrated it. I opened my mouth to respond to her when a message came into her phone.

"I'm really sorry. I have to go right now. Will you be okay without me?" She asked guiltily.

"Is that your new boyfriend? Does he want to see you right now? I'll be fine on my own. Go meet him, don't bother about me," I remarked, gesturing for her to leave.

"Thank you, Raye. I'll call you when I get back and happy anniversary," she called out hastily as she ran out of the building.

I sighed heavily as I watched her leave. At least one of us had a good love life going on. My relationship with Antonio was not getting any better and we barely even spend time together these days. It felt like our marriage no longer had the spark it once had anymore. I wonder if he even remembered today was our anniversary.

My phone vibrates loudly inside the pocket of my jacket and I pull it out eagerly hoping it was Antonio with a surprise call. It wasn't instead it was my stepmother, the bane of my existence.

I frowned slightly wondering why she was suddenly calling me after intentionally missing my award ceremony. Sandra never called me except to criticize and insult my life choices and decisions or to gloat about her daughter's achievement.

My hands hovered over the answer button contemplating whether to answer it or not, before finally answering it 

"Hello. What do you want?" I asked rather harshly.

"Your father and I need to discuss something important with you. Come home right now. We'll be waiting for you," she replied curtly, hanging up the call almost immediately without waiting for my response.

My temper rose at her request. Did she think I have nothing better to do than be at her beck and call? A part of me wanted to ignore her request but another part of me that yearned for a family's love couldn't resist the pull towards hearing what she had to say first. My curiosity was piqued and I had to know what she wanted to talk to me about.

Without delaying it any further I drove to my family's estate. The looming mansion came into view as I got closer to the house. Its grand walls and well constructed edifices had felt like a guarded prison through my years of growing up here, added with the fact that Sandra had made my life miserable while growing up. 

The staff greeted me as I walked into the house, their behaviours and expressions respectful but distant. I had to remind myself that I was no longer the little girl they had known any longer. I hadn't been able to step into the house since I'd moved out a few years ago and just the sight of it brought back painful memories that were better left buried deep inside of me. 

"Welcome miss. It's been quite a while we've seen you around, my dear," Paul, the family butler, greeted me with a large smile on his face. He looked thinner since the last time I'd seen him.

"I'm sorry. I guess I should have visited more often," I uttered sheepishly.

"It's fine. I completely understand. Your parents are waiting for you in your father's study. Do see me before you go, my dear," he informed me and I smiled gratefully at him before going up the stairs.

"What took you so long? We've been expecting you for so long now?" Sandra's shrilling voice greeted me as soon as I stepped into the familiar room. My father sat in his chair, his face his usual mask of indifference and coldness.

No matter how much i tried I could never figure out why my father hated me so much. Ever since my mother had died he'd never said a kind word to me and always believed everything Sandra told him about me.

I sighed, walking over to where they sat waiting for me. "What do you want? Why did you call me over so suddenly?" I asked, getting straight to the point. I wanted to get out of the house as soon as possible. Something wasn't right and I knew Sandra was up to no good for calling me here.

"Your father and I have encountered some problems in the gallery and we need your help to solve them," she began, her voice low and hard. 

"What's the problem?" I stared at her suspiciously through hooded eyes. She looked nervous even though she's trying very hard to hide it. 

"We have been using some of the art works to launder money and the police are on our trail," she finally revealed, dropping the bombshell.

"You did what?" I blurted out before I could stop myself.

My mouth flew open in surprise. Never would I have imagined my father would be involved in something as heinous as money laundering. I frowned suspiciously. Something wasn't adding up.

"Why are you telling me all this?" I asked, my eyebrows creased in confusion.

"We need someone to take the fall for us and that's where you come in. We need you to take the blame for the crime. It's the least you can do to thank us for taking care of you till now," she revealed pointedly without emotion.

I stood in silence for a few seconds before my mind finally registered what she said.

"What? Are you insane? Why would I take the blame for something I knew nothing about?" I spat out, trying to control my flaring anger.

"You don't exactly have a choice. We are just doing you a favour by informing you. The cops will soon call you for questioning," she added, enjoying every moment of my distress.

"That's impossible. I've no ties to the gallery. You can't pin this one on me," I uttered frantically, grasping at straws.

Sandra smiled then, a bone chilling and horribly frightening smile as she took a step closer to me. "Of course I can. As the owner of the gallery you should be held responsible for it, isn't that right?" she announced.

I watched in silence as she walked over to the large oak table in front of my father and picked up a document which she handed over to me.

"What's this?" I asked blankly looking down at the piece of paper on my hand.

"It's the deed to the gallery and it's under your name," she says before pointing to a bunch of files on the table. "These are documents that prove you are the one that gave the go ahead to embezzle the gallery funds and right there is your signature. I think it's going to be pretty easy to pin this on you," she uttered, smirking triumphantly while I stared at the papers in my hands in horror. 

She was right. They had my signatures on them but how did she get them? I would never willingly sign such incriminating documents or even do something that would destroy my career like that.

I suddenly remembered the day my father had called me over to sign some papers. This must have been those papers. I couldn't believe it. My own family had planned to blame me for embezzlement all this while.

It felt like someone had punched a hole in my gut and I couldn't breathe. I stared at the man who sat down unfazed. The man who was supposed to be my father. Why did he hate so much? What have I ever done to deserve such hatred from my own family? I had to know why.

"What have I ever done to make you hate me so much? I've tried to be the best daughter any parents could ever ask for but it's still never enough. Why was I never enough? You not only neglected me my entire life but now you want to frame me for embezzlement. What did I ever do to deserve such hate from you?" I asked, hot tears of pain streaming down my face.

My father's face remained impassive and unfeeling as he looked at me. There was no love in his eyes for me, either in the past or in the future. 

"Well there's no use hiding the secret any longer now. If you must know the reason why you were never loved, it is because he's not your father and you are not his daughter. Your mother cheated on him when they were still together and that's how you were born. He only took you in and raised you out of the goodness of his heart," Sandra revealed and I felt the blood drain from my face in shock.