Chapter 18 - The Rain of JusticeThe NICU erupted into absolute chaos.
Water cascaded from the ceiling in sheets, blinding the mercenary and soaking Katherine’s designer suit in seconds. The sudden deluge caused the mercenary to stumble backward on the wet linoleum, his grip on the portable infant carriers slipping as he tried to wipe the water from his eyes.
"Shoot them! Shoot them!" Katherine shrieked, panic finally cracking her icy composure as she shielded her face with her arms.
"Now!" I roared.
I lunged forward through the wall of water, tackling the mercenary hard around the waist just as he raised his weapon. We crashed heavily onto the slippery floor, sliding across twenty feet of water-soaked tile before slamming into a steel supply cart.
The mercenary swung his fist, catching me in the jaw, sending a shockwave of pain through my skull. But adrenaline fueled every cell in my body. I grabbed the heavy metal oxygen wrench I had tucked into my belt and brought it down hard across his wrist.
He cried out in agony, dropping his sidearm as it skittered across the wet floor into the darkness.
I pinned him to the ground, pressing my forearm against his throat until his eyes rolled back and he went limp.
I whipped my head around.
Katherine was scrambling toward the shattered double doors, slipping and sliding in her high heels, desperately trying to escape the torrential downpour.
And right behind her, moving with the silent, relentless speed of a shadow, was Sofia.
The little girl had grabbed one of the overturned thermal infant carriers—ensuring Mateo and Lucía were safely tucked inside—and was dragging it across the floor like a tiny general leading an army.
"You can't escape, Katherine!" I shouted, standing up, wiping the water and blood from my face.
Before Katherine could reach the hallway, heavy boots echoed from the main entrance.
Dose after dose of tactical gear flooded the doorway. But it wasn't Vance’s men.
State police officers, federal marshals, and the lead investigator commander surged into the NICU, their weapons drawn, their tactical lights cutting through the blinding indoor rain.
"Freeze! Federal agents! Nobody move!" the commander shouted, training his rifle directly on Katherine Vance.
Katherine stopped dead in her tracks. She turned around slowly, her hair plastered to her face, her designer suit dripping wet, her eyes burning with a venomous hatred that could have melted steel.
She looked at the federal badges, then at me, and finally down at little Sofia, who stood tall beside me, holding the infant carrier protectively with both hands.
"You're too late," Katherine whispered with a sickening, triumphant smile as the officers moved in to snap handcuffs onto her wrists. "The international board already approved our corporate restructuring. Even if you arrest me, the foundation owns this hospital. You've won a battle, Doctor... but you'll never reclaim the war."
"We don't need to win the war, Katherine," I said, stepping forward, pulling the laptop from my backpack and holding it up so she could see the screen. "We just broadcasted your family's entire bio-archive to every international news network and human rights tribunal on the planet. Your empire is gone."
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Katherine’s face drained of color. The iron mask finally shattered completely.
As the officers dragged her away into the corridor, her frantic, furious screams echoed off the wet hospital walls until they faded into silence.
