Chapter 11 - The Trap
Federal agents wanted to move us.
I disagreed.
David knew the hospital.
He had people watching exits.
Moving Grace created vulnerability.
So we did something David wouldn't expect.
We stayed.
But we changed rooms.
The hospital transferred another empty bassinet into my original suite.
The blanket remained.
The lights remained dim.
From the hallway, it looked occupied.
Meanwhile, Grace and I moved two floors down.
Julian refused to leave us.
At 1:17 a.m., someone entered my old room.
Cameras recorded everything.
A man wearing surgical scrubs approached the bassinet.
He pulled back the blanket.
Empty.
He froze.
Federal agents entered.
He surrendered immediately.
It wasn't David.
It was Dr. Warren.
Julian stared through the security feed.
“Why would Warren come back?”
I knew.
“He wasn't coming for Grace.”
Agents searched him.
Inside his coat they found a small flash drive.
Warren asked to speak with me.
Against everyone's advice, I agreed.
He sat behind a glass partition.
“I was trying to leave this for you.”
He held up the drive.
“What is it?”
“David's medical records.”
Julian stiffened.
“My father's?”
Warren nodded.
“He's sick.”
“How sick?”
“Terminal.”
Silence.
That explained the escalation.
David wasn't protecting an empire for the next twenty years.
He was settling unfinished business.
“How long?” I asked.
“Months.”
Warren looked exhausted.
“He wants Julian to inherit everything.”
Julian laughed bitterly.
“I don't want it.”
“David doesn't care.”
Warren looked at me.
“You are the obstacle.”
“Because I know about the money?”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“Because Julian listens to you.”
That was the first thing all night that genuinely surprised me.
David wasn't afraid I would expose the empire.
He believed I would convince Julian to destroy it.
Warren leaned closer.
“He needs Julian to take control before he dies.”
“And Grace?”
“Leverage.”
My stomach turned.
Julian stood.
“I'm going to kill him.”
I grabbed his hand.
“No.”
“He threatened my daughter.”
“And that's exactly why you don't give him what he wants.”
Julian looked at me.
“What does he want?”
“You angry.”
I held his gaze.
“Reckless.”
“Violent.”
“Easy to control.”
Julian slowly sat down.
Warren nodded.
“She's right.”
Then alarms sounded upstairs.
Agents began shouting.
Someone had triggered the fire suppression system.
The hospital cameras went dark.
And through the glass door at the end of the hallway, an older man stepped into view.
May you like
Julian stopped breathing.
“Dad.”
