Chapter 3 - The Prosecutor Arrives
The waiting room doors blew open at 8:30 AM, slamming against the drywall with a force that rattled the magazines on the coffee table.
Arthur Mercer did not look like a man who had just driven straight through the night from O'Hare. He wore a charcoal tailored suit, a trench coat slung over one arm, and an expression of cold, methodical fury. His jaw was clenched so tight a muscle throbbed visibly near his ear. He spotted Daniel huddled in the corner chair and marched straight toward him.
Before Daniel could even stand up, Arthur grabbed him by the lapels of his wrinkled blue shirt and hoisted him out of the seat, slamming him against the wall.
"Arthur—wait—let me explain—" Daniel choked out, his feet barely touching the floor.
"Shut your mouth, Daniel," Arthur whispered, his voice dangerously low, vibrating with a lethal intensity. "If you make a single sound before I finish speaking, I will break your jaw right here in this hospital corridor and let my badge deal with the paperwork."
Arthur’s eyes were bloodshot, burning with a mix of grief and unadulterated rage.
"My sister is fighting for her life upstairs in a coma because her heart stopped while you were out playing house with a gold-digging corporate parasite," Arthur said, each word landing like a hammer blow. "While Claire was measuring her food, managing her high-risk pregnancy alone, and crying herself to sleep because her husband was always 'working late,' you were dining at five-star restaurants on company expense accounts."
"How do you... how do you know about that?" Daniel gasped, gasping for air against the collar cutting into his windpipe.
"Did you really think Claire didn't know?" Arthur hissed, loosening his grip just enough for Daniel to cough. "Claire knew about Vanessa for two months. She didn't say a word to you because she was thirty weeks pregnant with twins and terrified that the stress would trigger premature labor. She was protecting her babies while you were stabbing her in the back."
Daniel’s knees buckled. The room spun. "She... she knew?"
"She knew everything," Arthur said, dropping Daniel back onto the floor with a disgusted shove. He stepped back, straightening his own cuffs with clinical precision. "And now, here’s what’s going to happen. My mother is flying in from Florida to take custody of the twins if anything happens to Claire. As for you? You are officially locked out of this hospital. I’ve already spoken to hospital administration and the chief of legal affairs. Your name has been scrubbed from the visitor registry. If you step foot on this floor again, you will be arrested for harassment and trespassing."
May you like
"They're my children!" Daniel shouted, desperation finally overriding his terror. "I have rights!"
"Rights?" Arthur let out a sharp, bitter laugh. "You surrendered your rights the moment you stood in that hallway watching your wife flatline while your mistress giggled behind your shoulder. Now get out of my sight before I forget I’m an officer of the court."
