Chapter 2: The Silent Ward
"Get your hands off her!"
Nathan’s fist connected with the bodyguard's jaw before his brain could register the violence. The man stumbled back, releasing Maisie, who scrambled behind Nathan’s legs, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Nathan!" Victoria hissed, her composure fracturing. "You are destroying this family’s reputation over a lie! Julian is dead! He has no heirs!"
"Then why are you terrified, Mother?" Nathan demanded, holding his ground as hospital security rushed down the hall. "Why did you try to kidnap a four-year-old girl from an intensive care unit?"
"I am protecting our legacy," Victoria snapped. She straightened her diamond necklace, her eyes locking onto Maisie with venomous hatred. "If you do not walk out of this hospital with me right now, Nathan, I will cut your funding. I will strip you of your CEO title by morning. You will have nothing. No wealth, no power, and certainly no resources to protect these gutter rats."
"Then strip it," Nathan said, his voice deadly quiet. "Because tonight, I realized that everything we built under those chandeliers is a lie. I'm not leaving them."
Victoria stared at him, her lips curling into a cruel sneer. "You always were too soft, just like Julian. And look where it got him."
She turned on her heel and swept out of the hospital, her security detail close behind.
Nathan collapsed against the wall, his chest heaving. He looked down at Maisie, who was shaking violently, her tiny fingers clutching the fabric of his ruined tuxedo pants.
"Is Rowan going to die?" she whispered, her voice cracked and small.
Nathan knelt down, ignoring the dirt on his knees, and gently pulled her into a hug. For the first time in his thirty-one years, he didn't care about the cameras, the board of directors, or the billions of dollars hanging in the balance. "I won't let him, Maisie. I promise you. I won't let anyone hurt either of you."
An hour later, Rowan’s condition stabilized. The blue tint had faded from his lips, replaced by a faint, healthy pink. But the peace didn't last.
Nathan’s phone buzzed in his pocket. It was a private number.
He answered it immediately. "Nathan Fisher."
"Mr. Fisher," a panicked, breathless female voice gasped on the other end. "My name is Sarah. I... I was Julian's private assistant before... before the accident. You have to get the children out of that hospital. Now."
"What are you talking about?" Nathan asked, stepping away from the ICU glass so Maisie wouldn't hear.
"The accident... Julian's crash... it wasn't an accident," Sarah whispered, her voice shaking with terror. "He found out what your mother was doing with the offshore accounts. He was going to expose her. He was running away with Clara—the children's mother. They staged the crash, Nathan. They thought Clara died in the fire too, but she escaped. She was pregnant."
Nathan felt the cold air return, freezing the blood in his veins. "Where is Clara now?"
"She's dead, Nathan," Sarah cried. "She died two weeks ago from postpartum complications. She spent her last months hiding in abandoned buildings, terrified your mother would find the baby. She told Maisie to take Rowan to Westfield Square... because she knew your charity gala was tonight. She knew you would be there. She hoped... she prayed you were different from your mother."
Before Nathan could ask another question, the line went dead.
Suddenly, the lights in the pediatric ward flickered and died.
The backup generators kicked in, casting the hallway in a dim, eerie red glow. The hum of the medical equipment changed, and the security alarms began to beep softly in the distance.
May you like
Through the red shadows, Nathan saw two figures in dark clothing walking slowly down the corridor toward Rowan’s room. They weren't hospital staff.
And they were carrying silenced pistols.
