Chapter 4 - Shadows in the Ward
Marcus dropped the phone and bolted through the house, Miller yelling behind him as they tore out the front door. Sirens screamed once more as Miller’s unmarked cruiser cut through midday traffic, running red lights across the downtown corridor back toward St. Jude Memorial.
""Unit 4 to Central, dispatch hospital security to ICU, floor four, patient Nia Vance immediately! Possible intruder on site!"" Miller barked into his radio, his tires smoking as he drifted through a sharp intersection.
Marcus clenched the dashboard. Julian’s words echoed like a death sentence: Vanessa never leaves loose ends. How could Vanessa gain entry to an intensive care unit? Then Marcus remembered: before Vanessa worked as an accountant, she had spent four years working administrative billing for the regional hospital network. She knew the shifts, the keycard codes, and the doctor rotation schedules.
When the cruiser skidded to a halt outside the emergency entrance, Marcus threw his door open before the wheels stopped spinning. He blew past the security desk, ignoring the shouts of the guards, taking the stairs three at a time until he burst onto the fourth floor.
The corridor was eerily quiet. At the far end of the hallway, Evelyn sat outside the ICU room, her head slumped forward against her chest, fast asleep on a plastic chair. A paper cup of coffee rested beside her feet.
""Evelyn!"" Marcus shouted, shaking her shoulder. She stirred groggily, blinking through heavy disorientation.
""Marcus...? A nurse brought me tea... felt so tired..."" Evelyn slurred.
Marcus kicked open the door to Room 412.
Inside, a figure in surgical scrubs and a blue medical mask stood over Nia’s bed, holding a plastic syringe with its needle poised centimeters above the primary IV drip line port. The figure turned abruptly, eyes widening above the surgical mask.
It was Vanessa.
""Step away from her!"" Marcus roared, charging forward.
Vanessa didn't hesitate. Instead of plunging the needle into the port, she swung the syringe violently toward Marcus’s face. Marcus ducked, catching her wrist in a crushing grip, twisting it downward until the plastic cylinder snapped, clear liquid splashing across the sterile tile floor.
Vanessa screeched, clawing at his eyes with her free hand. Marcus shoved her backward against the stainless-steel supply cart, sending metal trays and gauze bandages clattering across the room.
""You tried to kill my family!"" Marcus pinned her against the wall by her shoulders, his face inches from hers. ""Why? What did Nia ever do to you?!""
Vanessa spat at him, her eyes burning with unhinged malice. ""Your family? You stole Julian’s birthright! You took the company our father built, and you left us with scraps! Nia figured it out three months ago—she was tracing the shell companies. She had to go!""
Detective Miller burst through the door, his service weapon drawn. ""Freeze! Step back, Marcus! Let her go!""
Marcus slowly released his grip, his chest heaving, backing away with his hands raised. Miller slammed Vanessa against the wall, wrenching her arms behind her back and clicking the steel cuffs around her wrists.
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""You're too late, Marcus,"" Vanessa sneered, laughing through ragged breaths as Miller hauled her upright. ""Julian’s already at the airstrip. The offshore accounts are activated. By sunset, you won't have a single dime to pay for her life support.""
Marcus looked at the heart monitor beside Nia’s bed. The rhythmic green line spiked erratically, and then an alarm began to screech. Nia’s body began to seize violently on the mattress.
