Chapter 7 - THE TRAP BETWEEN FLOORS
The security officers looked up.
The metal hatch shifted again.
One of them pulled me farther from the center of the elevator.
“Stay down.”
My bed could not move far.
The space was too narrow.
The second officer reached for his radio.
“This is Officer Daniels.”
“We are trapped in the north elevator between floors twelve and thirteen.”
“No response.”
Only static answered.
The hatch opened two inches.
Then stopped.
A small black object fell through the gap.
It hit the floor near my bed.
One officer kicked it away.
A sharp chemical smell filled the elevator.
“What is that?”
“Cover your mouth.”
The officer grabbed a blanket and pressed it over my face.
White smoke began spreading across the floor.
My eyes burned.
My chest tightened.
The babies moved violently inside me.
“No.”
I placed both hands over my stomach.
“Please.”
One officer tried forcing the elevator doors apart.
The other used the emergency phone.
Neither worked.
The smoke thickened.
Then a loud crash came from above.
Someone dropped through the hatch.
It was not Madison.
It was a man wearing a maintenance uniform and a black mask.
Officer Daniels rushed him.
The man struck him with a metal tool.
The second officer grabbed the attacker from behind.
They slammed against the wall.
My bed rolled violently.
I screamed as pain shot through my abdomen.
The attacker kicked the officer backward.
Then he turned toward me.
He held a syringe in one hand.
I stared at the needle.
“What is that?”
He said nothing.
He moved closer.
I pulled at the bed rail.
There was nowhere to go.
The officer on the floor grabbed the man’s ankle.
The attacker fell forward.
The syringe slid beneath my bed.
The second officer drove his shoulder into the man’s chest.
They struggled in the smoke.
Then the elevator shook.
A mechanical groan came from above.
The car dropped several feet.
Everyone hit the floor.
My bed slammed against the wall.
A terrible pressure tightened around my stomach.
I cried out.
Blood began spreading across the sheet again.
The attacker climbed toward the hatch.
Officer Daniels grabbed his uniform.
The fabric tore.
A hotel access card fell from the man’s pocket.
It landed beside my hand.
I picked it up.
The gold logo made my breath stop.
Foster Meridian Corporate Security.
The attacker kicked Daniels in the face.
Then he disappeared through the hatch.
Seconds later, the elevator doors were forced open from outside.
Firefighters pulled us onto the thirteenth floor.
I could barely hear them over the ringing in my ears.
Someone lifted my bed.
Someone called for a doctor.
I clutched the access card in my fist.
“Julian.”
No one answered.
“Where is Julian?”
Across the hospital, Julian chased Madison down a service corridor.
She reached a stairwell door.
He caught her arm before she could open it.
She spun around.
“Let go of me.”
“What did you do to Audrey?”
“I came to warn her.”
“You sent the messages.”
“No.”
“You knew my mother was coming.”
“Because she called me.”
Julian tightened his grip.
“Why were you meeting with her?”
Madison’s eyes filled with fear.
“She offered me money.”
“For what?”
“To find Audrey.”
“To follow her.”
“To report everything back.”
“And you agreed?”
“I thought Eleanor wanted to protect you.”
Julian laughed bitterly.
“You followed my pregnant wife for months.”
“I did not know about the fire.”
“Did you disable the hotel cameras?”
“No.”
“Did you enter the office?”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
Madison looked toward the stairwell.
“I do not know his name.”
Julian stepped closer.
“But you know who he works for.”
Her breathing became shallow.
“Your mother has a private security division.”
“I know.”
“No.”
Madison shook her head.
“You know the company on paper.”
“You do not know what they actually do.”
Julian’s face hardened.
“What are you talking about?”
“They investigate employees.”
“They follow journalists.”
“They make problems disappear.”
“My father created that department.”
“Your mother expanded it.”
Julian stared at her.
“She used corporate security to attack Audrey?”
“I heard her speaking to a man named Grant.”
“Grant Holloway?”
Madison nodded.
Grant had served as the Foster family’s head of security for fifteen years.
He had been trusted with everything.
Passwords.
Vehicles.
Private schedules.
Emergency protocols.
“Where is my mother?”
Madison opened her mouth.
A gunshot exploded from the stairwell.
The small window in the door shattered.
Madison screamed.
Julian pulled her to the floor.
A second shot struck the wall above them.
“Move!”
They crawled behind a supply cart.
Julian looked through the broken glass.
A shadow moved down the stairs.
He recognized the man’s broad shoulders.
“Grant!”
The footsteps stopped.
Then Grant Holloway’s voice came through the door.
“You should have stayed out of this, Julian.”
Julian stood behind the wall.
“You tried to kill my wife.”
“I followed orders.”
“My mother’s orders?”
Silence.
That silence was an answer.
Julian’s voice became cold.
“Walk away now.”
Grant laughed softly.
“You still think this company belongs to you.”
“It never did.”
A third shot struck the wall.
Julian grabbed Madison and pulled her toward the opposite corridor.
They ran.
At the secure maternity floor, doctors surrounded me.
The pain was becoming worse.
A physician examined the monitor.
“We need to stop the contractions.”
“Are they alive?”
“Yes.”
“Both?”
“Yes.”
“Where is my husband?”
The word escaped before I could correct it.
The doctor looked at the nurse.
“We cannot find him.”
I gripped the access card.
“A man attacked us.”
“I know.”
“He had this.”
I handed it to the nurse.
She looked at the logo.
Then she gave it to a police officer standing near the door.
His expression changed.
“This card belongs to Grant Holloway.”
I stared at him.
“Who is that?”
Before he could answer, Julian burst into the room.
Madison was beside him.
There was blood on Julian’s shirt.
I tried to sit up.
“Are you hurt?”
“It is not mine.”
Madison stepped forward.
“I am sorry.”
I looked at her.
Every memory of the kiss returned.
Her hands on his chest.
His mouth against hers.
My anniversary dinner sitting untouched.
“You need to leave.”
“Audrey, please listen.”
“No.”
Julian moved between us.
“She knows who attacked the hotel.”
I looked at him.
“Someone attacked the elevator too.”
His face changed.
“What?”
“The man had a syringe.”
Julian looked at the police officer.
“Where is he?”
“He escaped through the shaft.”
I handed Julian the access card.
He stared at the name.
Grant Holloway.
Madison whispered.
“That is the man Eleanor was speaking to.”
Julian looked at her.
“What was in the syringe?”
“I do not know.”
The doctor picked it up from an evidence bag.
“The preliminary test shows a concentrated medication.”
“What kind?”
The doctor’s expression became grim.
“One that can trigger uterine contractions.”
The room went silent.
Julian stared at the syringe.
“They were trying to make her lose the babies.”
Madison covered her mouth.
I felt the boys move again.
Two tiny lives fighting inside me.
Then my phone vibrated on the table.
A new video message had arrived.
The sender was Eleanor Foster.
Julian opened it.
His mother appeared on the screen.
She was sitting inside a dark car.
“Audrey.”
Her voice was calm.
“If you are watching this, then things have gone farther than I intended.”
Julian’s jaw clenched.
Eleanor continued.
“I never ordered anyone to harm you.”
“I only wanted you frightened.”
“Grant acted beyond his instructions.”
Madison whispered.
“She is lying.”
Eleanor looked directly into the camera.
“There is only one way to end this.”
“Sign over full custody of the twins after birth.”
“Do that, and Grant will disappear.”
“Refuse, and he will continue until he succeeds.”
The video ended.
I stared at the blank screen.
Julian looked at me.
May you like
Then he said the words that changed everything.
“My mother just confessed.”
