The Billionaire’s Hidden Heiress
Chapter 133

Johnathon POV

I'm paralyzed. I can't move. My eyes refuse to open. My mind is like a black canvas. Pain shoots through my body and then it fades as though painkillers are flooding through me. I'm aware of voices as they shout orders at each other, my body feeling as though it's floating. The last thing I remember is being hit by a car as I leave the clinic, the car accelerating to hit me and my instinctive knowledge that it was Charlotte or somebody she paid to do it. My mouth will not speak. My body will not move. I can feel my body being hooked up to machines. I hear a doctor's voice. I hear nurses and know I must be in a hospital room. Am I in a coma? Is that why I cannot see?

I'm here I want to shout. I'm right here. But nothing comes out. I'm helpless. I hear the sound of clacking noises that sound eerily familiar. Charlotte's heels. I smell her perfume, the nauseating flower-like scent wafting towards my nostrils. I still have my sense of smell, even after breaking my nose. "Remember that he can't hear you or see you but he'll still replace some comfort in your presence" the doctor's voice again.

"Thank you doctor" Charlotte's voice.

She sounds tearful. Like any other grieving wife. I'm not fooled. I wish I could tell the doctor how dangerous she really is. I fight like hell to move, to give some sort of indication that I don't want to be left alone with her, but it's futile. My mind is trapped inside my body like a prison.

"I'll give you two some privacy. If you need me, Mrs Deluca, I'm right down the hall. Just give me a shout" he said.

"Thank you," Charlotte said sweetly, still making sobbing noises.

She could win an award for how good her acting is. I hear the doctor close the door behind him as he leaves the room. For a minute there is nothing but silence and then the tears that Charlotte was sobbing slowly fade to nothing.

"Oh Johnathon," she says and her voice is frosty now, impatient.

I hear the sound of a chair scraping closer and feel her fingers grasping my hand. She must be attempting to look the part of a grieving wife in case anyone looks in. Her mother must be in the hallway. "You can never do anything right, can you" she hisses.

Of course, I'm silent. She gives a condescending laugh. "Goddamnit. It was supposed to be so easy" she chuckled "All I had to do was ensure that you were in the parking lot and pay somebody a lot of money to do it" she confessed in a sly whisper "You stupid i***t. You never think the worst of me, even when you know what I'm capable of. The things I've done..." she exhales and trails off.

So that's why the person behind the wheel had looked oddly familiar and yet not Charlotte. I was angry and unable to show it. "Did you really think that I would let you go to the doctor's clinic to replace out if you were fertile? I'm not stupid" she breathed "You weren't sick and it was the only reason you could have had to go there. A doctor's clinic that specializes in reproductive disorders" She laughed "It was like you were asking for it. Imagine my surprise when I answered your cell phone and discovered where you were going and at what time."

I had been an i***t to leave my phone out where she could hear it, but in my defense, I didn't think she would enter my room to answer it. I had learned a very painful lesson. "I already knew the baby wasn't yours," she said wickedly "When you confessed that you and Flair didn't get pregnant in the three years you were married, I set out to make sure I got pregnant. I wasn't taking any chances to get my hands on the company. Besides this, I was already seeing somebody who was helping me to learn all there was about company protocols and sending me company money. It was pretty much going to be mine regardless but this put the nail in the coffin" she leaned in to murmur in my ear.

It was torture having to listen to her like this and be unable to say anything back. Her hand continued to hold mine. I wished I could yank it away. "The doctor is reasonably certain that you aren't going to recover" she continued to murmur, her voice filled with a hint of glee "The injuries you sustained are too severe, although he's trying to put a positive spin on it for my sake" she exhaled "I almost feel sorry for you Johnathon. You were so easily led into my trap. You honestly had no idea what kind of person I really was," she said incredulously "the things I've done, all to get this company. Some things haven't gone to plan" she admitted nonchalantly as though she was discussing the weather "I mean Grandpa was supposed to die, but I suppose him having a heart attack and surviving isn't the worst thing."

I knew it. I knew she had done something to Grandfather. This was infuriating. I felt her stroke my cheek, felt the ice-cold temperature of her palm. "Poor Johnathon" she whispered.

f**k you, I wanted to roar but of course, I couldn't. I wanted to rip these stupid IVS off me and the machines out of my body and throw myself at her but I couldn't move a single muscle.Many sentences in this chapter have been removed because you are not reading them on Jo b n ib.com. I heard the sound of the door open and within seconds Charlotte was sobbing quietly again.

"How is he?" Karen's voice was tentative.

"Look at him mother" Charlotte sobbed "he's all hooked up to these machines and there are bandages around his head. He looks like something out of a horror movie" she wailed, beginning to cry louder.

"Sweetheart it's going to be okay. They have the best doctors in this hospital and the nurses are very diligent here."

"What if he doesn't recover" she sobbed, putting what felt like her head on my chest.

"Try not to think like that" Karen's voice was soft "You have to believe that he's going to make it. That he's going to want to live for the sake of your baby. I know it's hard Charlotte but this is the time when you have to have a little faith," she said sweetly. "Faith? Faith?" Charlotte shouted, "Somebody ran him over Mother. Excuse me if I don't have faith right now, especially in the human race."

Oh, she was good, I marveled. Her acting was second to none. She sounded devastated. She had the right tone of voice, acting for all she was worth. If I could have clapped I would have.

"What happened to Johnathon is terrible" Karen allowed "but not everybody is a horrible human being. Think of your baby. Part of your child is part of Johnathon. Is that not something to celebrate" she urged as I listened blankly "There will always be a part of Johnathon for you to remember if the worst should happen, but pray to god it doesn't come to that." "You're right Mother" Charlotte whispered "You're so right. I have to think about the sake of our baby and I have to be strong for our child." The door opened again. "Mrs Deluca" the doctor's voice "I apologize for disturbing your time with your husband."

"No, no that's alright" Charlotte's voice was hasty and she sniffled "I'm afraid that I'm having some difficulty being in the room like this with him anyway. It hurts to see" her voice broke "It hurts so much to see him like this instead of the strong and powerful man I am used to."

"I understand. Those feelings are perfectly normal and part of the grieving process. You needn't take it personally" he told her "but I do have some concerns. Are you pregnant?" he asked, "your mother mentioned it to me just now." "Yes" her voice shook.

"In that case as a doctor, I must ask you to take care at this time. You're in your first trimester still and stress can have a terrible impact on the unborn fetus. Make sure you take plenty of rest, keep your fluids up, and also your nutrition. I know that right now is a very trying time for you" he emphasized, "but the priority needs to be for you and your child as well, not just your husband."

"I'm not the only one who's pregnant" Charlotte muttered "So is Flair."

Her voice was slightly bitter. "Ah," the doctor said cautiously "as to Mr Deluca's condition. We should know if he's improving within the next few days. If there is any change, better or worse, I shall inform you immediately. Would you like the other members in the lounge to be contacted as well?"

Other members? Who else was here to see me? It could only be Grandfather and Grayson right? "Sure," Charlotte said quietly "They can be informed but only after me," she said repeating it.

"Of course. Would you like some more private time with your husband?" the doctor offered "We can check his vitals and then leave you alone again."

"No that's okay," Charlotte said softly "I'm beginning to feel a bit sick and I just want to go home and get some rest" she whispered.

"Oh honey, of course, let's get you home," Karen said sympathetically "You should have said something sooner" she scolded her daughter.

"Seeing Johnathon was okay was more important," Charlotte said dramatically.

"Still Charlotte, you heard the doctor. You have a baby to worry about now as well."

"Okay. Let's go home" Charlotte said tiredly.

I heard the sound of hers and Karen's heels on the floor, the sound of the door opening and closing. I felt the nurses touching me as they checked the machines and my vitals. "Vitals are steady for now."

"Condition is unchanged," the doctor said sighing "I don't think this poor bastard has a hope in hell of recovering. Whoever hit him really didn't want him to survive" he added grimly as I listened.