Chapter 5 - THE HOSPITAL STALKERAdrián drove back to the hospital with a police escort. The knowledge that a desperate, powerful corporate criminal was on the run and looking to silence Elisa terrified him.

He arranged for two uniformed officers to be stationed outside Elisa’s room on the third floor.

When he walked into the room, Elisa was resting, watching the local news on a small wall-mounted television. The lead story showed footage of their house in Zapopan, surrounded by crime scene tape, with news anchors reporting on a major federal raid breaking up an illegal pharmaceutical trafficking ring.

"They showed Bruno’s face on TV," Elisa said quietly, her voice trembling. "Adrián... what is going to happen to them?"

"They are going to prison," Adrián said firmly, sitting on the edge of her bed and holding her hand. "Both of them. They put you and our unborn child in mortal danger for money. I will never forgive them, and I will never let them near us again."

Elisa nodded, tears glistening in her eyes. "I just want to go home, Adrián. But we can't go back to that house."

"We won't," he promised. "As soon as you're discharged, we're moving far away. I’ll sell the house, put the money into a clean account for our baby, and we’ll start over."

Later that evening, around 9:00 PM, a storm rolled over Zapopan again, bringing heavy downpours and lightning strikes that flickered through the hospital windows.

Adrián stepped out into the hallway to buy a bottle of water from the vending machine down the corridor. As he walked back, he noticed something strange: the two uniformed police officers stationed outside Elisa’s room were nowhere to be seen.

"Hey!" Adrián called out, looking down the empty hallway.

Suddenly, a janitor’s cart blocked the far end of the hall. Standing right outside Elisa’s door was a tall man wearing a dark trench coat, a surgical mask, and a leather medical briefcase.

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Through the clear window of the door, Adrián saw the man reach into his coat, pull out a small glass syringe, and turn the door handle.

It was Julian Mercer.