I was dragged down the private hospital corridor by my stepmother after my father's surgery, my shoulder scraping against the floor as she ordered the nurses not to interfere. She leaned over me and whispered, “Your father will wake up believing you abandoned him—and by the time he does, this entire hospital will belong to me.”

For a few seconds, I couldn't understand what was happening. My shoulder burned against the cold hospital floor. My hands were shaking. And around me, doctors and nurses simply stood there. Nobody moved. Nobody helped. Because my stepmother, Victoria, had already ordered them not to interfere.

“Stay out of this,” her voice echoed through the private corridor.

I looked at the nearest nurse. “Please…”

She lowered her eyes. Victoria smiled. “You see? Even they know better than to challenge me.”

I tried to stand, but she grabbed my arm and dragged me farther away from my father's recovery room.

“My father just came out of surgery,” I gasped.

“I know.”

“He needs me.”

Victoria stopped. “No. He needs me.” She leaned down until her face was inches from mine. “He needs a peaceful family. Not a daughter who keeps causing problems.”

I stared at her. “What did I do?”

“You asked too many questions.”

“About what?”

She glanced toward my father's room. “About the hospital.”

My stomach tightened. “What about it?”

She whispered, “Your father is the majority owner.”

I froze. “What?”

“You didn't know?” She laughed softly. “Of course you didn't. For the last two years, your father has been quietly buying shares in this hospital. By tomorrow morning, the hospital will officially belong to the family.” She pointed toward the executive wing. “And your father changed his will yesterday.”

My heart stopped. “What did he change?”

Victoria smiled. “He left controlling ownership to you.”

Silence. I finally understood. She wasn't trying to get rid of me because she hated me. She was trying to get rid of me because of what my father had left me.

“You're lying.”

“No.” She pulled a document from her handbag. “Read it.”

It was a temporary power-of-attorney agreement. My father's name was at the bottom, and Victoria's name was beside it. My blood ran cold.

“He never signed this.”

“That's where you're wrong,” she smiled.

“My father was unconscious before surgery.”

“Exactly.” She leaned closer. “He couldn't contradict me.”

I looked toward the nurses. “You forged his signature.”

Her expression hardened. “Careful.” She grabbed my chin. “Your father will wake up tomorrow. And when he does, he'll believe you abandoned him. And I'll be the loving wife who stayed by his side.”

Then she walked away. I crawled toward my father's room. A nurse finally moved, looking terrified.

“I'm sorry. I can't help you.”

“Why?”

“Because Mrs. Carter fired two nurses this morning for refusing her orders.”

My heart sank. I looked through the glass window. My father was lying motionless in the recovery room, machines beeping beside him. His face looked pale. I pressed my hand against the glass. “Dad…”

Then I noticed something. His right hand was moving. Barely, but moving.

I rushed to the door. The nurse grabbed my arm. “Wait.”

“Why?”

“He's waking up.”

My father's eyes slowly opened. Victoria suddenly appeared behind me. Her expression changed. “Get her out.”

The nurse froze. My father looked toward the glass, his eyes finding mine. I mouthed: I love you.

Then Victoria stepped directly between us and entered his room. I watched through the window as she leaned toward my father. I couldn't hear what she said. Then my father looked toward me again, his expression confused. Victoria pointed at the door, at me, and shook her head. My father closed his eyes. She was telling him I had left.

I pushed the door open. “Dad!”

Victoria spun around. “You're not allowed in here.”

“He's my father.”

“He needs rest.” She grabbed my arm, but I pulled away.

“Let me talk to him.”

My father suddenly opened his eyes. His voice was weak. “Emma…”

“Dad.”

He looked at me, then at Victoria. “Why… why are you here?”

My heart shattered. She had already started poisoning his mind. “Dad, I never left.”

Victoria interrupted. “She was asked to leave.”

My father looked confused. Then his monitor began beeping faster. The doctor rushed into the room. “Everyone out.”

I stood in the hallway crying after the door closed. Then the nurse who had been watching quietly approached me.

“Your father didn't sign that power-of-attorney.”

I looked at her. “What?”

“Because I was there yesterday before surgery,” she whispered. “Your father asked me to witness a new will, and he told me never to give it to his wife.” She reached into her pocket and handed me a tiny key. “It's the key to his private medical records. He was afraid someone would try to make it look like he was mentally incompetent.”

Then my phone vibrated. One message from an unknown number: Your father wasn't the only patient whose records were altered. Check Room 714.

I looked at the nurse. “What's Room 714?”

Her face went pale. “That's where the hospital stores archived patient records.”

I looked toward Victoria, who was running down the corridor. I grabbed the nurse's hand. “Come with me.”

We rushed to Room 714. The key fit. Inside were shelves of old medical files. I found a folder with my father's name: surgery records, financial records, and a list of patients who had died under suspicious circumstances after owning valuable property. Beside Victoria's name was written: ACQUISITION COMPLETE.

Then the nurse opened another file. Her hands shook. “Emma…”