The Billionaire's Insignificant Wife novel Chapter 160

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The Welfare Check

The night passed slowly and torturously.

Alina lay in bed with her eyes open, staring at the dark ceiling.

Every time her eyes began to feel heavy, Daniel’s words echoed in her head–threats about her father, about the destruction of Hayes Corporation, about the eight million dollar debt that could be called at any time.

And each time, Alina jolted awake with her heart pounding hard.

When dawn finally illuminated the window curtains with dim gray light, Alina still hadn’t slept at all.

Her body felt heavy–as if filled with lead.

Her head throbbed with a dull ache.

And her hand–which moved to her stomach with a gesture that had become automatic–trembled with profound

exhaustion.

The door opened gently.

Mrs. Helen entered with a breakfast tray and a face full of worry.

“Ma’am,” she called in a soft voice. “It’s morning. The examination will begin in two hours.”

Alina didn’t respond. She just continued staring at the ceiling with empty eyes.

Mrs. Helen set the tray on the bedside table and sat on the edge with a careful movement.

“I brought breakfast,” she said while touching Alina’s hand gently. “Toast and warm tea. Just a little. But you must try to eat something. You need strength for today.”

Alina finally shifted her gaze from the ceiling to Mrs. Helen.

The eyes that looked back were eyes that had already lost hope.

Mrs. Helen felt something cold creeping into her chest.

Yesterday–when she told Alina about the wellness check–there had been a glimmer of hope in those eyes. Thin and fragile, but there.

Now…

Now there was nothing.

Only terrible emptiness.

“Ma’am,” Mrs. Helen whispered with a voice beginning to tremble. “What… what happened? Yesterday you still had… still had hope. But now…”

Alina closed her eyes slowly.

“Nothing happened, Mrs. Helen,” she said in a flat voice–a voice that sounded like someone who had completely given up. “Everything is fine.”

Mrs. Helen recognized that tone.

The same tone Alina had used when speaking with Richard on the phone several weeks ago.

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“Everything is fine.”

Code for: everything is not fine, but I can’t say it.

“Ma’am, please,” Mrs. Helen pleaded with a desperate voice. “Today is your chance. Your chance to tell the truth. To finally get out.of here. Don’t give up now. Not after everything that has-”

“Mrs. Helen.”

Alina’s voice cut in gently but with finality behind it.

“Please don’t make this harder for me.”

Tears began flowing down Mrs. Helen’s cheeks.

She understood.

Somehow–perhaps Daniel came last night, perhaps he threatened again, perhaps he said something that destroyed the thin hope that had just grown–but Alina had made a decision.

And that decision was not to save herself.

Mrs. Helen wanted to scream. Wanted to shake Alina and tell her that she shouldn’t give up. That she deserved to be free. That she didn’t have to protect others by sacrificing herself.

But she knew it wouldn’t change anything.

Alina had already decided.

And there was nothing she could say to change the mind of a woman who was too tired to keep fighting.

“Alright,” Mrs. Helen finally whispered while wiping her tears. “Let’s get you ready.”

An hour later, Alina sat in the chair by the window wearing a light blue dress that Mrs. Helen had put on her.

The dress was too big now–hanging on thin shoulders and loose at the waist.

Mrs. Helen had already brushed her hair gently–trying to make Alina look presentable even though nothing could hide the fact that this woman was dying from the inside.

A face too thin with sharply protruding cheekbones.

Sunken eyes with dark circles beneath them.

Skin as pale as paper.

And wrists with thin bandages still visible–a reminder of the suicide attempt several days ago.

Mrs. Helen stood behind Alina and looked at their reflection in the small mirror on the vanity.

“You’re still beautiful, Ma’am,” she whispered even though tears threatened to fall again. “Very beautiful.”

Alina didn’t answer.

She just kept staring at her hands folded in her lap with an empty expression.

A knock at the door made them both look up.

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Daniel entered in a neat gray suit and an expression that was calm–too calm for a morning that should be full of

tension.

“Alina,” he greeted with a warm voice. “You look good today.”

His eyes swept from Alina’s head to toe with a quick assessment.

He saw the dress that was too big. The face that was too thin. The empty eyes.

But more importantly–he saw defeat.

And that satisfied him.

“Ms. Fontaine and Dr. Halvorsen will arrive in thirty minutes,” he said while walking closer. “I’m sure you already remember what we discussed last night.”

Alina nodded very slowly–a movement almost invisible.

Daniel smiled thinly.

“Good,” he said while touching Alina’s cheek with a movement that appeared affectionate but had possessiveness behind it. “I knew you would make the right decision. For us. For our family.”

He kissed Alina’s forehead gently.

“I’ll be in my study,” he whispered in Alina’s ear. “But remember–I won’t be far. And I will know if you say something… you shouldn’t.”

Daniel released Alina and turned to Mrs. Helen with eyes that suddenly became cold.

“Make sure she’s ready,” he ordered in a tone that left no room for argument. “And Mrs. Helen–if anyone asks you, you will say that Mrs. Alina is very well cared for in this house. Understood?”

Mrs. Helen nodded with a tightly clenched jaw.

“Understood, Sir.”

Daniel left with confident steps, leaving Alina and Mrs. Helen in heavy silence.

Mrs. Helen stared at the closed door with eyes full of anger she couldn’t express.

Then she looked at Alina sitting with a very small and fragile posture in the chair.

“Ma’am,” she whispered in a very soft voice–barely audible. “You don’t have to do this. You can tell the truth. They will protect you. They will-”

“Mrs. Helen.”

Alina spoke without raising her head.

“Please. Don’t make this harder.”

Mrs. Helen closed her eyes tightly, fighting back tears that threatened to overflow.

“Alright, Ma’am,” she finally whispered. “Alright.”

At ten o’clock in the morning, the doorbell rang.

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