Our Wedding Was Ruined and I Found a Husband 27

Laila’s POV 

The sharp, sterile tang of antiseptic hung heavy in the hospital air, stinging the back of my throat as I shifted against the stiff sheets. Every muscle in my body screamed from the fall out of that car, the sprint through the warehouses, the rough hands of fear dragging me from one second to the next. 

My veins still pulsed with the poison Brittany had slipped me, the drugs clinging stubbornly even though the IVs had flushed most of it out. I felt raw, brittle, like one wrong move would splinter me into pieces. 

The buzz of my phone startled me. It rattled against the metal bedside table like a warning bell. The number flashing across the screen froze me in place. It had been years since I’d seen it, but I recognized it instantly. My stomach knotted as I answered. 

“Mrs. Harper?” The voice on the other end was careful, familiar. “It’s Nurse Patricia from the medical center where you… where we met a few years back.” 

My blood went cold. Patricia–the only person who knew the whole truth. She’d been there the night I’d given birth, terrified and alone. After I’d built my company and become successful, I’d helped her get a better position at a private practice. In return, she’d quietly erased my medical records from the old system. 

“Patricia,” I forced out, keeping my tone steady even though my pulse thundered in my ears. “It’s been a while.” 

“I wanted to warn you. Someone’s been asking questions. A private investigator. He was digging for information about you. About… that night.” 

The words set me further on edge. My grip tightened on the phone, fingers trembling. Jason. It had to be Jason. Still digging, still obsessed with the past, unwilling to let go even when I’d built a life, even when I’d buried myself under a new name. 

“Did you tell him anything?” 

“Of course not,” Patricia said firmly. “There’s nothing left to find–I made sure of it, but he was thorough. Professional. This wasn’t some casual inquiry.” 

“Thank you for letting me know.” 

After I hung up, I stared at the ceiling tiles and tried to calculate my next move. If Jason was digging this deep, how long before he uncovered the truth? How long before he realized Vanessa Harper and Laila were the same person? 

The door to my room slammed open before I could gather my thoughts. 

“You conniving little bitch.” 

Brittany. 

She stood framed in the doorway like some unhinged angel of vengeance, her silver gown crumpled, mascara streaked down her cheeks, hair once perfect now wild around her face. If her intention was to look terrifying, she succeeded. 

“Visiting hours are over,” I said coolly, reaching for the call button. 

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Chapter 27 

+25 Bonus 

“Don’t,” she hissed, stalking forward. “Don’t you dare. Do you have any idea what you’ve done? Jason thinks I tried to kill you!” 

“Didn’t you?” My voice was cold steel. “Drugging me. Hiring someone to dump me in rogue territory. That sounds like attempted murder to me.” 

Her lip curled in fury. “This is your fault! If you’d never partnered with him, if you’d stayed in whatever hole you crawled out of, none of this would’ve happened!” 

“I was minding my own business,” I shot back. “You’re the one who can’t handle your fiancé working with another woman.” 

“It’s not just work!” she screamed, loud enough that it echoed down the hall. Her eyes gleamed with desperation and rage. “He’s obsessed with you. The way he looks at you, the way he talks about you—it’s the same as before!” 

My heart lurched, but I forced myself to ask, “Like what, Brittany?” 

Her mouth twisted into something cruel. “Like the way he used to look at that pathetic human whore. The one who got herself knocked up and died birthing some bastard no one wanted.” 

The words hit harder than any slap. She didn’t know. She had no idea she was talking about me, about Ava. But the venom in her tone, the way she spat those words–hatred for a child she’d never even met–ignited a fire in 

1. me. 

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