Chapter 8 - The Cornered Rat
In the sterile, fluorescent-lit trauma room of St. Jude's Hospital, Julian Sterling lay strapped to a gurney. His left leg was cast in plaster from hip to ankle, pulsing with white-hot agony whenever the painkillers wore thin. Two armed federal marshals stood by the door, their hands resting on their holstered glocks.
Across from the gurney sat Victoria, her designer gown stained with soot and rain, looking like a shattered porcelain doll. Her regal posture had disintegrated into a manic, trembling crouch.
""We have to plead insanity, Julian,"" Victoria muttered feverishly, biting her cracked fingernails. ""We tell them the Valmont girl poisoned our minds... that she coerced us into signing those documents...""
""Shut up, Mother!"" Julian snarled through clenched teeth, sweat dripping from his chin. ""Shut up! She took everything! Don't you understand? The money, the estate, the Sterling name—we are nothing! We're going to spend the rest of our lives in a maximum-security penitentiary!""
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Suddenly, the lights in the trauma ward flickered violentlyIt looks like the text or context of the story you mentioned (""câu chuyện vừa gửi"") wasn't included in your prompt.
Could you paste the previous story, outline, or key details (characters, setting, and main conflict) so I can pick up exactly where it left off and craft the 15 chapters with the correct tone, plot progression, and cliffhangers?"
