CHAPTER 5 – The Wrong Son
The entire hospital shook as the emergency generators struggled to come online.
Darkness swallowed every corridor.
Then came the gunfire.
One shot.
Two.
Five.
Patients screamed.
Doctors threw themselves to the floor.
The men wearing fake police uniforms immediately abandoned any attempt to stay undercover.
"Move! Move!"
"Find Carter!"
"Leave no witnesses!"
Their flashlights sliced through the darkness as they stormed toward the surgical wing.
But when they reached Ethan's room...
The bed was empty.
Only the heart monitor continued beeping beside an untouched IV stand.
"What the hell?"
"He was here thirty seconds ago!"
Their commander grabbed the nearest nurse by the arm.
"Where is he?"
The terrified nurse burst into tears.
"I—I don't know!"
The commander slammed her against the wall.
"You have five seconds."
Before she could answer...
A deep voice echoed from the end of the hallway.
"Looking for someone?"
Every gun turned at once.
An elderly janitor stood calmly beneath the emergency lights.
He still held the same mop.
His gray uniform was stained with bleach.
He looked harmless.
The commander laughed.
"Old man, walk away if you want to live."
The janitor smiled.
"I've been dead once already."
Without another word...
He pulled the wooden handle from the mop.
Inside it was a compact tactical shotgun.
The first blast shattered the commander's rifle.
The second knocked another attacker across the hallway.
The remaining gunmen opened fire.
But the old man moved with astonishing speed.
Too fast for someone in his seventies.
Within seconds, four attackers were unconscious.
Two fled.
One never got back up.
The last man crawled toward the exit, bleeding heavily.
Before he escaped, the janitor stepped on his hand.
"Who sent you?"
The mercenary laughed through blood.
"You still don't know?"
"The Chief doesn't run the organization..."
The janitor frowned.
"What organization?"
The mercenary smiled one last time.
"The Chief works for..."
A laser dot suddenly appeared on the mercenary's forehead.
The janitor's eyes widened.
"Down!"
A suppressed sniper round exploded through the hospital window.
The mercenary died instantly.
The sniper had just eliminated his own man.
Silence returned.
Only the sound of distant sirens remained.
Meanwhile...
Three floors underground.
Hidden beneath St. Mary's Hospital.
A secret elevator opened.
Inside stood Detective Marcus.
Beside him...
Ethan Carter.
Alive.
Barely conscious.
Marcus looked at him.
"You knew this tunnel existed?"
Ethan nodded weakly.
"My father built it..."
"...after the first assassination attempt."
Marcus stared.
"The first?"
Ethan closed his eyes.
"There have been eleven."
Marcus froze.
"Eleven attempts to kill you?"
"No."
Ethan looked directly at him.
"They weren't trying to kill me."
Marcus felt a chill run down his spine.
"They were trying..."
"...to make Isabella believe I deserved to die."
At the same moment...
Isabella sat alone inside the hospital chapel.
She couldn't stop crying.
Everything she believed had collapsed in a single night.
She whispered softly.
"If you're alive, Dad..."
"...please help me."
A gentle voice answered from the darkness.
"You've finally started asking the right question."
She spun around.
An elderly priest stepped out from behind a column.
His face was hidden beneath the hood of his robe.
He slowly placed a silver cross into Isabella's hand.
"You'll need this."
She looked down.
The cross felt unusually heavy.
"Who are you?"
The priest smiled sadly.
"I buried your father."
Tears filled Isabella's eyes.
"But... everyone said he died."
The priest nodded.
"They buried a body."
He leaned closer.
"But not your father."
Before Isabella could ask another question...
The chapel doors burst open.
Victoria stood there surrounded by armed security guards.
"There she is!"
The priest whispered urgently.
"Don't let them take you."
He pushed Isabella toward a narrow wooden door behind the altar.
"What about you?"
The old priest smiled peacefully.
"I've been hiding for twelve years."
"I can hide for another five minutes."
Isabella hesitated.
Then she ran.
The hidden door slammed shut behind her.
Seconds later, Victoria entered the chapel.
She looked directly at the priest.
"Where is my daughter?"
The priest calmly made the sign of the cross.
"I answer only to God."
Victoria sighed.
Then, without the slightest hesitation...
She pulled a silenced pistol from her handbag.
And fired.
The old priest collapsed beside the altar.
As he took his final breath, he whispered just two words.
"Black Ledger..."
Victoria's face instantly changed.
For the first time in years...
She looked terrified.
Because she knew exactly what those two words meant.
And if Isabella found the Black Ledger before they did...
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Every secret hidden for the past twelve years would destroy the most powerful families in the country.
To Be Continued...
