Grant turned it so the faded name faced her.
Evelyn Carter.
Natalie stared for one second too long.
Then she shrugged.
“So Evelyn was in the hospital.
That proves nothing.”
Grant hadn’t said what he believed it proved.
He leaned back slowly.
“I didn’t say it proved anything.”
Natalie’s eyes lifted to his.
The room changed.
Grant understood negotiations.
He understood leverage.
And suddenly Natalie had given him something she hadn’t intended to give.
She knew why the bracelet mattered.
“Tell me the story again,” he said.
“What story?”
“The first night you sat beside me.”
Natalie folded her arms.
“You’re being strange.”
“Tell me.”
Her irritation became visible.
“You woke up after surgery.
You were scared because you couldn’t see.
I held your hand.”
“What did you say?”
“Grant—”
“What did you say?”
She exhaled.
“I told you to count backward from ten.”
His stomach tightened.
“And how did you know I was afraid to fall asleep?”
Natalie’s mouth opened.
Then closed.
“You told me later.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Then someone in your family did.”
“My family didn’t know.”
Her composure cracked.
“What exactly are you accusing me of?”
Grant picked up the discharge sheet.
“Evelyn was admitted to the same hospital that night with injuries connected to a roadside incident.
You saw her name on this bracelet and reacted before I told you why it mattered.
So I’m asking one more time.
How did you know what that girl said to me?”
Natalie walked toward the windows.
“This is ridiculous.
Evelyn has been obsessed with replacing me since the day she married you.”
“She never showed me this.”
Natalie turned.
“Because she wanted you to find it after she left.
That’s obvious.”
Grant looked toward the place where the bracelet had fallen.
Evelyn had been halfway out the door when it slipped from her folder.
She hadn’t placed it on his desk.
She hadn’t mentioned the accident.
