CHAPTER 3

My hands skimmed through the pile of documents and ledgers contained in the safe - not one file looked out of place or rather suspicious.

My brows furrowing as I continued my search, hoping and praying that he hadn't gotten rid of all the evidence.

Just one, please lord. Just one file, i just needed just one file of incriminating evidence. I was already reaching my wits end when I heard a soft click.

Another hidden compartment. This safe had another hidden compartment !! - I was sure that something important was stashed away there.

My hands roamed all over, looking for an access point to this compartment. My hands held a small hook, lifting the base of the safe up slowly. A small, black USB sat at the base of the safe - almost as if it had been waiting for me all that while.

I curved my lips in a smile - after hours of searching, i have finally found a breakthrough.

I gripped the small file USB in my hand, rushing to the personal computer sitting on the large teakwood desk.

Cracking my knuckles, i stretched my stiffened neck as my fingers flew over the keyboard with the sounds of me punching keys filling the room.

I knew the password, so logging in was quite easy. I quickly plugged in the USB into the port while trying to access the files within. I had no ideas of what to expect, my heart beating erratically against my ribcage. A thin line of sweat forming on my forehead as i clicked on a file.

A video. No!, a surveillance video. Captured on the night of the accident. With my headphones plugged in, i pressed play while my hands shook uncontrollably.

"Amputate her legs, sir?!" - the sound filling my ears as my eyes solely focused on the computer screen with my hands pressed together.

Watching two male figures discussing outside a hospital ward.

"But sir - her legs are perfectly fine. Just a few sprains, with further treatment i am sure -"

"Aren't you listening to me?!. Amputate her legs either way, it doesn't matter to me if her legs are perfectly fine or can be healed." - that familiarly cold voice,which belonged to Jason cut in.

My heart ached, like a huge stone was pressed against it, making my every breaths an unevened strain. Tears slipping out from my eyes as my hands subconsciously touched my prosthetic left leg.

"I just do not want her walking on her two feet again. It wouldn't be bad to just have one leg disposed off. Irina's dancing competition is in a few days, she's much a threat to Irina's victory with her two legs still attached to her "- I watched as he slipped his hands into his leather pockets.

Just because of a damned dancing competition, he had my legs amputated. Was all this just for a dancing competition not worth mentioning, the car crash, my parents death, all of it. All of it just to secure the winning spot for his beloved?!.

I exited the tab, finding my self incompetent and finding the entire situation ridiculously laughable.

Another tab resurfaced - it was another hospital surveillance video. I clicked it, ...my heart hanging heavy in my mouth.

This time, unlike the other - the surveillance video was taken from inside an operating room. I layed motionless, strapped to the operating table, my face pale and devoid of colour.

"Mr Smith, isn't this too much?" - a doctor dressed in a white coat stood before Jason. Worry evident in his voice.

"Miss woods has gone through a lot. Must you really go this far?!" - I listened carefully as he continued.

"By Crossing paths and threatening Irina, she has committed a grave sin. Selling off her eggs...........is just one of the many ways she can actually compensate" - he had his back turned to me, his cold words sealing my fate.

"I don't want someone like her carrying my child. This is a threat that I wish to eliminate. Though she is married to me, she isn't permitted to have my child "

The gynecologist shook his head, sighing softly.

I balled my hands in a tight fist,my finger nails digging dip into my palm while I gritted my teeth in fury.

"And remember, to have i and Irina's fertilized egg placed in her womb. Don't damage it!!" - Jason reminded over his shoulders.

"Removing all her eggs and having her surrogate?. This is just too sudden,she will be too weak for this. She could risk being infertile forever . I....... I can't - "

"Do you not mind me handing over evidence of your medical malpractices to the police?!" - Jason cut off the panicking doctor,his words sounding more like a threat than an actual question.

" I thought so too "- looking at the smirk etched on his face,i felt like going into the computer and tearing his face apart.

" IRINA, is now a public figure. As an actress, she has to be perfect and at her best. This pregnancy as it is is already affecting her performance. This little thing, I'm sure Selene can bear that for much longer."- he paused briefly. " That's what she owes Irina ".

I placed my hands over my now flat tummy. Feeling the scars of a C-section incision just right below my belly button. A child whom I had almost died conceiving wasn't mine. Edward wasn't mine.

My shoulders shuddered uncontrollably at the massive discovery - When you calculate the time frame of the surgery and my time of conceiving Edward. It all matched, the child was obviously not my son.

I laughed hysterically and almost dementedly. All this while,i had been a tool in their hands. Compensating for a crime I was a victim of,all while the perpetrators ran freely.

I had never suspected that the title of Mrs Smith wasn't mine in the first place. But I now know that it was a shackle.

A heavily forged chain of bondage. Made to keep me down and under their watchful eyes.

To think that i had once thought of it as a blessing. This was a curse disguised as a blessing.

I raised both my hands,eyes blurring with tears and a heart filled with regret. A curse!!.

It was already dusk by the time I had finished sorting through the information. Making sure to transfer each vital piece of information to my phone.

I stared off into the darkness, the silence ringing in my ears. They weren't back yet.

I cleared up any trace of my presence lingering in the room before exiting the library.