THE WAITRESS WHO STOPPED A MILLIONAIRE FROM SLAPPING AN OLD LADY

CHAPTER 10: THE MOTHER WHO WAS NOT INNOCENT
The arrests made national headlines.
Federal investigators searched Sterling’s offices in Chicago, New York, and Washington.
Several leaders were arrested.
Bank accounts were frozen.
Moretti Enterprises launched an independent investigation into its former activities.
Bluebird’s archives revealed a network of fraudulent medical experiments, illegal identity changes, and payments to officials who had helped cover up the crimes.
But the most painful revelation came three days later.
Vincent discovered that Isabella had been one of the first medical advisors of the Bluebird project.
He confronted her in the family mansion.
Emma was present because Isabella had insisted that she hear the truth.
Adrian was standing next to Vincent.
Catherine watched from the door.
Isabella was sitting in her wheelchair by the fireplace.
His hands were shaking.

Vincent put a file on the table.
“Your signature is on these authorizations.”
Isabella lowered her head.
“I know.”
“You approved the first patient transfers.”
“Yes.”
Emma felt a shiver run through her.
Vincent’s voice hardens.
“Did you know that these searches were illegal?”
Isabella began to cry.
“Not at first.”
“When did you discover it?”
She hesitated.
Vincent repeated his question.
“Mom.”
Isabella closed her eyes.
“After the death of the first three patients.”
An overwhelming silence invades the room.
Emma looked at her in horror.
Three people.
Three lives.
Three families destroyed before Isabella decides something was wrong.
“Why didn’t you report anything?” asked Emma.
Isabella looked at her.
“Because I was afraid.”
Emma’s face hardened.
“Everyone was scared.”
The old lady cried even harder.
“My husband told me that they would kill Vincent if I talked.

”
Vincent looked away.
Adrian crossed his arms.
Emma stepped forward.
“They threatened my father.”
Isabella nodded.
“They kidnapped my mother.”
“I know.”
“They murdered eleven workers.”
Tears flowed on Isabella’s cheeks.
Emma’s voice trembled.
“And you have remained silent.”
The old lady lowered her head.
“Yes.”
Emma looked at her.
She remembered the gala.
Of the wheelchair.
From Victoria’s raised hand.
Of his own decision to intervene.
She would make the exact same decision if she had to relive this scene.
But she no longer saw Isabella as just an innocent woman who was the victim of cruel treatment.
“Did you arrange for me to work at the gala?” asked Emma.
Isabella froze.
Vincent turned abruptly.
“Mom?”
Isabella looked down.
“Yes.”
Emma held her breath.
“You knew who I was.

”
“Yes.”
“Before I even stop Victoria?”
Isabella nodded.
Emma felt her anger grow.
“Were you the one who brought me here?”
“I arranged for you to be assigned to the reception room service.”
“Why?”
Isabella’s voice broke.
“Because I wanted to meet you.”
Emma looked at her in disbelief.
“You could have contacted me directly.”
“Your father refused to talk to me.”
“So you used my work.”
Isabella began to cry.
“I wanted to fix things.”
Emma shook her head.
“No.”
She took a step back.
“You wanted the truth to come out without having to be the one to reveal it.”
Isabella looked at her.
For several seconds, she didn’t answer.
Then she lowered her head.
“You’re right.”
Vincent remained motionless.
His mother had been scared.
She had been manipulated.

She had suffered.
But she had also participated in the operation that destroyed Emma’s family.
Henceforth, truth could no longer be divided into convenient pieces.
Vincent looked at Isabella.
“Will you testify?”
She looked up.
“Against Jonathan?”
“Against everyone.”
He paused.
“Including against yourself.”
Isabella looked at her son.
Then she nodded.
“Yes.”
Emma walked to the door.
Vincent followed her.
“Emma.”
She stopped.
“I’m sorry.”
Emma looked at him.
“Why?”
“For everything my family has done.”
Emma watched him.
Then she answered calmly.
“You haven’t started all this.”
Vincent nodded.
“But I inherited the power that came from it.”
Emma did not answer.
Vincent continued.
“And now I have to decide what I’m going to do with that power.”
CHAPTER 11: THE THREE SISTERS
Olivia met Grace Carter on a rainy Thursday afternoon.
The reunion took place in a quiet room in Catherine Hale’s private medical center.
Emma was standing next to Lily.
Daniel was waiting by the window.
Grace was sitting in a chair with a faded photograph in her hands.
When Olivia entered, no one spoke.
The girl looked at Emma.
Then Lily.
And finally Grace.
His face began to tremble.
“Are you really my mother?”
Grace rose.
His eyes filled with tears.
“Yes, my dear.”
Olivia put a hand to her mouth.
For years, she had dreamed of a woman singing a song to her.
A soft voice.
A lullaby telling the story of a blue bird who found his way home.
And now she heard that same voice in the room.
Olivia whispered,
“You used to sing me a song?”