My Billionaire Husband Arrested Me for Taking His Money Chapter 04
That night, I squeezed into the barely twenty-two square feet of attic floor that wasn’t buried beneath boxes.
When I woke the next morning, I discovered that the attic door had been replaced with a steel security gate.
I grabbed the bars with both hands and shook them.
“What is this? Let me out!”
The household manager approached with a polite smile.
“Would you like to enter one of the downstairs areas, Mrs. Mercer?”
“My stomach hurts. I need to go to the hospital.”
“Of course. At your current walking speed, it should take approximately five minutes to reach the front door.”
“That comes to two dollars and fifty cents. How would you like to pay?”
“I…”
My entire body went still.
“Mr. Mercer gave us specific instructions. He told us to enforce the agreement to the letter.”
“You can’t leave the attic until the access fee has been paid.”
Another cramp tightened across my abdomen. I covered my stomach as tears gathered in my eyes.
“I really don’t have any money. I already gave Ryan everything I had.”
“Please let me out. Once I find work, I promise I’ll pay it back.”
The household manager shook his head.
“The agreement says access fees can’t be put on credit.”
“But…”
“What’s all this noise?”
The sharp click of heels sounded down the hallway.
Vanessa Shaw appeared wearing a new pair of emerald earrings. They had just been released and retailed for nearly $450,000.
The emeralds swayed with every step, flashing beneath the lights.
I stood behind the bars with my hair tangled around my face. Their sharp green gleam made my eyes ache.
The household manager gave Vanessa an apologetic smile.
“Mrs. Mercer isn’t feeling well and wants to leave.”
Vanessa’s mouth curled in contempt at the words “Mrs. Mercer.”
She glanced at my stomach.
“Didn’t the doctor say she wasn’t due for another month?”
“You’ve all worked for Ryan long enough. Can’t you tell when someone’s putting on an act?”
“Well…”
“No one is to help her. Unless there are chores for her to do downstairs, she has to pay every time she leaves the attic. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Ms. Shaw.”
“Vanessa!”
The pain in my stomach was getting worse, and my voice had turned hoarse.
If I missed this chance, I might never get out.
I suddenly thrust my arm through the gap in the security gate and grabbed one of her earrings.
Vanessa gasped, then screamed in pain.
“Let me… out…”
“Ms. Shaw! Someone help her!”
The staff didn’t dare pull too hard, afraid I would tear the earring straight through Vanessa’s earlobe.
With no other choice, the household manager unlocked the gate.
I lunged through the opening and stumbled toward the stairs.
Before I got far, a slap sent me reeling.
I hit the floor hard.
Ryan towered over me. Vanessa stood behind him, clutching her ear and trembling.
The staff had already radioed him.
“Drag her back inside!”
“Ryan, my stomach really hurts! I have to go to the hospital!”
“What are you going to claim now? That you’re in labor?”
His eyes narrowed.
“Ryan, I…”
Two members of the staff seized my arms. A moment later, the steel gate slammed shut between us.
I collapsed on the floor and clutched the bars.
“Ryan, please. It really hurts.”
“All right.”
He crouched in front of the gate and extended a hand through the bars.
“The access fee is two dollars and fifty cents. How are you paying?”
“Ryan!”
My entire body shook with sobs.
“You know I gave you every dollar I had!”
“So?”
“So…” The word broke apart in a sob. “I don’t even have two dollars and fifty cents.”
“Then we have nothing to discuss.”
“Ryan…”
I reached through the bars, but Ryan wrapped an arm around Vanessa’s waist and walked away.
No matter how far I stretched, I couldn’t reach him. Another contraction tore through me as I held out my hand in desperation.
“Ryan, come back! Something’s wrong with the baby!”
“Ry…”
“Ryan…”
My arm finally dropped to the floor.
Warm liquid slowly spread beneath me. The pain in my abdomen seemed to ease, but my consciousness faded with it.
A day later, with the housework piling up, the household manager approached Ryan uneasily.
“Sir… Mrs. Mercer has been in the hospital since yesterday.”
“Her due date isn’t for another month. How did she afford to check into a hospital a month early?”
“No, sir. The baby didn’t survive.”
Ryan went completely still.
“The doctor said the physical trauma and extreme exhaustion triggered premature labor. They couldn’t save the baby.”
Only then did Ryan notice the small, dark brown stain on the attic floor. It had seeped deep into the cracks and couldn’t be scrubbed away.
His breath caught.
Slow footsteps sounded from the stairwell.
I had come back.
“Lena.”
He hurried toward me.
I slowly lifted my eyes. Then I reached into the large canvas hospital bag and pulled out an envelope.
“Ten thousand dollars. That should cover what I owe you.”
“Lena?”
I held out a second document.
“And here are the divorce papers.”