Shattered Then Healed By His Love (by Haley Blanton) novel Chapter 5

Chapter 5 Compensation

“Are you’re looking for someone?” Lucy gave her a puzzled look, her voice laced with quiet curiosity.

Natalic nodded. “She was the daughter of a death row inmate. She saved my life while I was in prison. I told her I’d return the favor… So she asked me to find her daughter and look after her once I got out.”

Lucy leaned in slightly. “What’s the girl’s name? How old is she?”

“Lily Preston. She’s six.” Her voice was quiet, and she looked a little less pale than earlier.

“Got it. I’ll have the divorce papers drafted as soon as possible.” Lucy gently straightened the edge of the blanket and lowered her voice. “As for the little girl–I’ll start looking, but it might take some time. If I hear anything, you’ll be the first to know.”

“Thank you, Lucy…” Natalie forced a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

Lucy saw right through it. She looked at Natalie’s pale face and felt a pang of

worry. She reached over and gently patted her hand. “Right now, the most important thing is for you to get better. Everything else can wait–including Jackson and Aiden.”

The second she heard their names, whatever softness was on her face turned cold.

fast to

Lucy hesitated, then added, “Honestly… if Jackson and Aiden hadn’t jumped in so defend that woman–if they’d just checked the security footage–you probably wouldn’t have ended up in prison. And you sure wouldn’t be in this mess now.”

She didn’t say the rest. She didn’t have to. Every part of what she’d said carried a deep, unspoken grief over what prison had done to Natalie.

Natalie didn’t respond. She just smiled faintly and let the silence sit.

She’d already come to terms with it.

Even if the footage had been found back then–even if it proved her innocence–Jackson and Aiden would’ve turned a blind eye. Found someone else to blame. Anything to protect Victoria.

One way or another, she would’ve been the one to take the fall.

She’d been through hell. Clinging to the past wouldn’t change a thing.

“Natalic…” Lucy called her gently.

Natalie blinked and looked up, just about to respond–when her phone rang.

It was the police department.

They said they’d located the missing angel statues and asked her to come in for confirmation.

Natalie hung up and threw off the blanket, ready to leave.

“What’s the rush?” Lucy reached out and caught her wrist, concerned.

Natalie was already slipping into her slippers, her expression cold and focused. “The police found the angel statues. I need to head over now.”

“You’ve still got a fever. You just took your meds–you really shouldn’t be pushing yourself like this.”

“I’m fine.” Natalie squeezed Lucy’s arm gently. “I can handle it.”

Seeing how determined she was, Lucy didn’t try to stop her again. Instead, she walked her downstairs and saw her off.

Half an hour later.

Natalie stepped into the station–and instantly spotted three familiar figures standing nearby.

From a distance, they looked like the perfect family.

A uniformed officer approached her. “Ms. Foster, your angel statues were found in front of Ms. Victoria’s residence. They’re too large to transport at the moment, so we’d like you to review these photos to confirm.”

He handed her a file. She opened it, her brow tightening.

No doubt about it. Those were hers.

“Yeah,” she said quietly. “They’re mine.”

“Natalie,” came Jackson’s voice from behind her–low, sharp, and annoyed. “I gave those statues to Victoria. This isn’t theft, and you know it. Stop making a scene. Tell the officers it’s all a misunderstanding.”

She turned slowly and met his eyes–cold, unreadable.

“He’s right!” Aiden added, his face stiff and defensive. “Dad gave them to Ms. Victoria. They’ve been at our house forever. How could that be stealing?”

Natalie didn’t even look at Aiden. She lifted her gaze to Jackson, her voice calm but icy. “Those statues were mine, I made them before we were married–they were personal property. You had no right to give them away. Not without asking. Not without permission. And you sure as hell didn’t own them.”

She had just gotten out of prison. No job. No income. And truthfully, she did need the money.

Jackson didn’t stop there. “And another thing,” he added bluntly. “You keep saying it was your premarital property. Got any proof it was made before the wedding?”

And that was the truth–once those statues were returned, it would be undeniable. She’d look like a thief.

She was rebuilding her career after prison, and that 415,000 dollars would be her fresh start.

“Give me your account info, Jackson snapped. “I’ll transfer it now,” “Give me your account number. I’ll transfer it right now,” Jackson said impatiently, a flicker of disgust and disdain in his eyes.

She refused to come home, stirred up drama at the station, and now she was demanding a payout.

The way this woman played her games–it made him sick.

If it weren’t for his grandfather, he would’ve ended the marriage long ago.

Natalie didn’t flinch. She didn’t even look at him. She scribbled her account number on a piece of paper and tossed it his way.

After leaving the station, Natalie was ready to head out when a familiar voice called from behind her.

“Wait.”

She stopped, turning back with a flat expression. “What now?”

Jackson gave her a quick glance, his tone colder than before. Grandpa wants to see you. And Uncle Marcus is flying in this week. The family’s holding a dinner at the estate. Be there the evening after tomorrow.”

Truthfully, Jackson hadn’t planned on inviting her at all.

A woman fresh out of prison showing up at a family gathering? It was embarrassing.

But her release had come at the worst possible time. With Uncle Marcus returning, if Natalie didn’t show, his grandfather would demand answers. And Marcus? He wasn’t someone to upset.

Letting Natalie skip the dinner could backfire on all of them.

Natalie paused, surprised by the name.

Out of nowhere, Marcus Collins’s handsome face flashed through her mind.

“You heard me, right?” Jackson pressed when she didn’t respond. His brow twitched, his voice growing sharper. “Don’t make me say it twice.”

Snapped out of her thoughts, Natalie blinked and gave a cool, quiet reply. “I heard you.

But in her mind, a question lingered. Why was Marcus coming back now?