Chapter 6 - Shadows on the Fifth Floor
Julian stared at the phone on the bedside table, the call already disconnected. The screen went black, reflecting his own wide, panicked eyes.
"Who was that?" Clara asked, clutching Maya tighter against her chest. "Julian, who has that number?"
"It’s my private line," Julian said, his voice barely audible. "Only five people have it. The board, my attorney, Clara, and..." He trailed off, looking toward the door. "And my mother’s private security detail."
The room grew abruptly dim as the late afternoon clouds rolled over the hospital windows, casting the recovery room into long, grey shadows. The quiet hum of the IV pump seemed deafening.
Suddenly, the fluorescent overhead lights flickered once, twice, and died.
The hallway outside fell into immediate disarray. Alarms beeped down the corridor as emergency red back-up lights sputtered on, casting an eerie crimson glow through the glass pane of Clara’s door.
"What's happening?" Clara scrambled to sit upright, pain shooting through her lower abdomen from the delivery. "Sarah! Nurse Sarah!"
No one answered. The heavy corridor chatter had vanished, replaced by an unsettling, deliberate silence.
Julian moved toward the door, peering through the small reinforced window into the hall. The nurses’ station was empty. The computer monitors had gone dark, displaying only static reboot prompts.
"The power didn't just fail," Julian said, checking his phone. "No signal. Cellular jamming."
"Julian, get us out of here," Clara whispered, slipping her legs over the side of the bed. Her limbs shook with exhaustion, but adrenaline surged through her veins. "Victoria knows what we have. If she can invalidate this test before it's officially entered into the county registrar tomorrow morning—"
A soft click echoed from the door handle.
May you like
Julian threw his weight against the heavy wooden door, turning the deadbolt just as the brass handle twisted violently downward from the outside. Someone threw their shoulder against the frame, rattling the hinges.
"Julian Vance," a calm, synthetic voice came through the crack of the door. "Step away from the threshold. We only require the infant."
