Chapter 4 - The Sterile Vault
The sharp smell of antiseptic replaced the opulent scent of cedar and French perfume that defined Vance Manor. Clara lay in the private wing of Saint Jude’s Hospital, wired to fetal monitors that filled the room with a steady, rhythmic beep.
The door clicked open. Detective Ross slipped in, holding two disposable coffee cups. He set one on the rolling tray table and pulled a vinyl chair close to her bed.
""The baby?"" he asked quietly.
""Strong,"" Clara said, exhaling a long breath that carried weeks of tension. ""The doctors said the fall didn't cause placental abruption. We were lucky.""
""Luck had nothing to do with it,"" Ross muttered, running a hand over his stubbled jaw. ""You took a deliberate dive down five steps. You could have killed yourself, Clara. Or lost the child.""
""I knew the angle,"" Clara replied, her tone chillingly detached. ""Victoria was too arrogant to realize that the cameras in that hallway were disabled on her orders, not mine. She thought she was committing the perfect crime in the blind spot. She never expected the wire.""
Ross sighed, pulling a manila folder from his leather satchel. ""The recording captured her admission of pushing you, but Eleanor’s attorneys are already moving. They’re claiming Victoria was acting in self-defense after you provoked her with blackmail.""
""Of course they are,"" Clara murmured, looking toward the dark window overlooking the city lights. ""Eleanor has half the district attorney’s office on retainer. But they don't know what’s on the cloud server.""
""And Julian?"" Ross probed. ""He’s paced a trench in the waiting room for three hours. He hasn't left.""
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Clara turned her eyes back to the detective, her expression hardening. ""Let him wait. He chose Victoria five years ago because her family’s offshore accounts could save the Vance shipyards. He didn't care who sank in the process.""
Suddenly, the continuous beep of the fetal monitor hitched, spiking erratically. The fluorescent lights overhead flickered once, twice, and then plunged the entire medical wing into utter blackness.
