Chapter 4 - A Devil's Bargain
""What do you mean her heart is failing?"" Marcus asked, his voice shaking. ""She was healthy. She had no preexisting conditions!""
The doctor sighed, glancing down at his clipboard. ""The trauma triggered severe internal hemorrhaging, but that’s not all. Her toxicology screen showed elevated levels of digitalis. A heart-rate altering drug. In high doses, it induces cardiac arrest that mimics natural distress.""
The room spun. Poison. Elena hadn’t just been pushed; she was being poisoned.
""Save them both,"" Marcus choked out, grabbing the physician's scrub top. ""You do whatever it takes. Take my blood, take my marrow, whatever they need.""
""We are taking her into an emergency C-section right now to save the child, but her survival rate on the table is less than forty percent,"" the doctor replied softly. ""You need to sign the consent forms. If it comes down to a choice... we need to know who takes priority.""
Marcus’s hand trembled so violently he could barely hold the pen. Elena had begged him for years to start a family, to break free from the toxic web of the Vance family legacy. She had told him this baby was their fresh start.
“If anything ever happens to me,” her voice echoed from a memory months ago, “save our child, Marcus. Promise me.”
He scribbled his signature on the bottom line. ""Save my wife,"" he said through clenched teeth. ""And fight like hell for my baby.""
The doctor nodded grimly and turned back through the swinging doors.
Marcus walked back to Leo, whose eyes were wide with terror. He knelt before the boy, taking his small shoulders into his hands. ""Leo, buddy. When Grandpa gave Vanessa that key earlier today... what did he say to her?""
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Leo swallowed hard, glancing around the empty hallway as if Arthur might materialize from the shadows.
""Grandpa told Aunt Vanessa,"" Leo whispered, ""that once the baby was gone, Marcus would have to sign everything over to survive.""
