Chapter 2 – The Truth Inside the Envelope
No one breathed.
The only sound left in the mansion was the steady drip of water from Amelia's soaked dress onto the hardwood floor.
Margaret stared at the envelope.
Her confidence had vanished.
"What do you mean... the baby stopped moving?" she asked, her voice suddenly unsteady.
Amelia slowly opened the envelope.
Inside was a thick stack of hospital documents.
Ultrasound images.
Blood test results.
A physician's report.
She placed the top page in front of Margaret.
"I went to the hospital this morning before coming here."
Margaret's fingers hesitated before picking it up.
The room watched in complete silence.
Across the top of the page, one sentence had been highlighted.
Severe fetal distress caused by prolonged maternal trauma and extreme emotional stress. Immediate emergency monitoring required.
Margaret's hands began to shake.
Kevin leaned over her shoulder.
His smirk disappeared.
"What... what does that mean?"
Amelia looked directly at him.
"It means my son nearly died."
The words struck the room like thunder.
Several guests covered their mouths.
One of Margaret's sisters burst into tears.
Amelia continued calmly.
"My doctor told me that repeated psychological abuse had dangerously increased my blood pressure over the past several months."
She paused.
"And today's humiliation made everything worse."
Another page slid across the table.
This one carried the doctor's handwritten recommendation.
Patient must avoid further emotional or physical stress. Risk of premature labor and fetal loss remains critical.
Margaret's lips trembled.
"I... I didn't know."
Amelia gave a faint, heartbreaking smile.
"You never wanted to know."
Silence swallowed the room.
Then Amelia reached into the envelope once more.
She removed another document.
This one wasn't medical.
It was a legal notice.
"My attorney asked me to bring this today."
Margaret frowned.
"Attorney?"
Amelia nodded.
"Everything that happened tonight..."
She slowly looked around the dining room.
"...was recorded."
Confused whispers spread among the guests.
Kevin laughed nervously.
"Recorded? By who?"
Amelia calmly pointed toward the chandelier above the dining table.
Every eye followed.
Hidden inside one of the decorative crystal fixtures...
A tiny security camera blinked with a red light.
Kevin's face went white.
Margaret looked up in horror.
"My husband installed new security cameras throughout the house after several break-ins last month."
She folded the documents carefully.
"And every second of tonight was automatically uploaded to cloud storage."
No one spoke.
No one moved.
May you like
For the first time in decades...
Margaret Hayes looked afraid.
