Chapter 3 - SHADOWS IN THE CORRIDOR
The elevator banks to the penthouse floor were locked down, but the emergency stairwell door was clicking open. Elena stood by the central monitoring station, her heart racing as Silvio crept down the hallway, using the shadows to blend into the darkness.
A figure clad in standard hospital scrubs, wearing a surgical mask and a pulled-down cap, emerged from the staff breakroom. They weren't moving like a doctor or a nurse—their steps were too calculated, too heavy.
"Stop right there," Silvio commanded, stepping out with his weapon leveled.
The imposter didn't hesitate. They pulled a compact submachine gun from beneath their lab coat and opened fire. The hallway erupted in a deafening spray of bullets. Glass shattered from the nurse's station, showering Elena in sharp fragments as she dove behind the heavy oak desk for cover.
Silvio returned fire, two precise shots echoing through the corridor. The attacker groaned, stumbling backward into the stairwell, leaving a trail of dark blood on the pristine white wall.
"Elena! Stay down!" Silvio shouted, sprinting after the shooter.
Elena huddled under the desk, clutching her knees to her chest. The hospital, usually a place of healing, had become a war zone. But as the echoes of gunfire faded down the stairwell, a chilling thought struck her.
If the shooter was a distraction... who is watching Luca?
She scrambled to her feet and rushed back into the private room.
Standing over Luca’s bed was Dr. Malcolm Vane. He held a syringe filled with an opaque milky substance—propofol, enough to cause permanent cardiac arrest in a weakened patient. His hands were shaking violently.
"Dr. Vane! Stop!" Elena yelled, positioning herself between the doctor and the IV port.
"You don't understand, Elena," Vane whimpered, tears of panic streaming down his face. "They have my family. If Luca Vescari wakes up and talks, the people he's going to name will destroy everyone. They told me if I didn't finish the job tonight, my daughter wouldn't make it to morning."
"Who are 'they', Malcolm? Tell me!" Elena pleaded, trying to reach for the syringe.
May you like
Before Vane could answer, a loud click sounded from the dark corner of the room. A figure stepped out from behind the heavy window curtains. It wasn't one of Silvio's men. It was Marcus, Luca’s most trusted bodyguard and the man who had been holding his injured arm in the trauma room earlier that night.
"He won't tell you anything, Nurse," Marcus said, his voice cold and devoid of emotion. He held a gun equipped with a silencer aimed directly at Vane's head. "Because dead men don't make deals."
