Chapter 6 - The Gilded Cage
The sun over Paradise Valley beat down with a dry, blinding heat that offered none of the clean, cool comfort of a hospital room. The rental villa was massive, constructed of sand-colored stucco and enclosed behind eight-foot concrete walls and wrought-iron security gates.
Inside, Toby lay on a plush king-sized bed that smelled like lavender detergent, but he felt more trapped than he ever had behind hospital rails. The room was set up like a studio. Professional softbox lighting was positioned on tripods around the bed, casting a glare so intense it made his eyes water.
""Sit up straight, Toby,"" Sarah instructed, adjusting the ring light positioned three feet from his face. She wore an expensive designer dress, her face fully contoured for the high-definition lens. ""When the stream begins, remember your line. Tell them your chest hurts, but you’re being brave for your internet family.""
""My tummy hurts, Auntie,"" Toby whimpered honestly. He was burning up; his skin felt dry and cracked, and his heart thumped in his throat like a runaway train. ""Can I have water? Just cold water?""
""After the broadcast, Toby. If you drink water now, your cheeks won't look as flushed, and we lose the color contrast on camera,"" Sarah said casually, checking the audio levels on her iPad. ""We need to hit the three-million-dollar milestone today. Once that clears, we can hire the private nurse to give you whatever you want.""
Toby curled into a fetal position, clutching his chest. ""I want Nurse Clara.""
Sarah’s face hardened. She stepped over to the bed, gripping his shoulder firmly—not enough to leave a mark, but hard enough to make the small boy gasp in pain. ""Clara doesn't care about you, Toby. Nobody cared about you until I made you someone. Without this camera, you are just an expensive orphan who costs money nobody has. Do you understand me?""
Toby choked down a sob, nodding rapidly. ""Yes, Auntie.""
""Good,"" Sarah said, stepping back to her tripod and checking her watch. ""Going live in sixty seconds. Look weak. Look pathetic. Give them what they're paying for.""
Outside the heavy iron perimeter gates, a nondescript rental sedan pulled up to the curb. Clara Vance sat in the passenger seat, peering through a pair of binoculars at the security cameras mounted along the wall.
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""There are three guards on the property,"" Sean said from behind the wheel, checking his phone. ""I managed to get a former colleague from Phoenix Children's to look at the preliminary tox report we smuggled out. He agreed to sign an emergency medical endangerment affidavit, but it won't clear the local magistrate until morning.""
""Toby doesn't have until morning,"" Clara said, watching the live notification pop up on her screen: Toby’s Final Stand: Live from Phoenix. ""Look at him, Sean. His heart rate is over one-eighty. He’s going into cardiac arrest right now.""
