Chapter 3 - Ghosts of the Past
"Get down!" Arthur roared, tackling Dr. Chen to the floor while drawing his firearm.
Through the blinding tear gas, Arthur fired three rapid shots, taking down the lead mercenary. The medical staff scrambled for cover behind heavy steel equipment as gunfire chewed through the room's computer monitors and IV stands.
Arthur sprinted through the smoke, vaulting over a surgical table. He grabbed Maya from the bed, wrapping her in a fireproof Kevlar blanket, and hoisted her onto his back using a tactical transport harness.
"Uncle Arthur!" Maya shrieked as bullets pinged off the metal wall beside them.
"Hold on to my neck, Maya! Don't let go!"
Arthur kicked open the secondary maintenance hatch, plunging down a dark utility chute that led to the building's underground drainage system. They hit the cold water below with a loud splash.
Breathing heavily, Arthur navigated the dark concrete tunnels using the tactical light mounted on his pistol. Maya held him tightly, her warm tears soaking into his shirt.
"Why are bad men shooting at us?" she whimpered. "Is it because I tried to stand up?"
Arthur stopped in a dry alcove of the tunnel, gently setting her down against the wall. He looked at her with profound guilt.
"Maya... six years ago, your father and I had a terrible fallout. He wanted to use the family trust to finance secret biological research, and I tried to stop him. When I left the country, I thought he would keep you safe. I was a fool."
Maya reached out, her wet, trembling hand touching Arthur’s cheek. "It wasn't your fault..."
"It was," Arthur said, his voice cracking with emotion. "They didn't just pretend you were paralyzed to keep you weak, Maya. They needed you to stay in that chair because of your inheritance."
"My inheritance?"
"Your mother left you fifty-one percent of the voting shares in Vance Global," Arthur explained, pulling out a encrypted tablet to check their GPS location. "According to the trust clause, if you reached your eighteenth birthday while medically classified as 'incapacitated,' the entire corporate board—controlled by your grandmother—would inherit full authority forever."
Maya’s eyes widened. "Grandmother... Grandmother Helen?"
"Yes," Arthur said darkly. "The woman who raised me. And if my brother Richard is still alive... he's working for her."
Before they could move further down the tunnel, Arthur’s tablet screen flickered. A video signal forced its way onto his device.
The screen revealed an ornate, dimly lit study. Sitting in a high-backed velvet chair was an elderly woman with silver hair pulled into a tight bun, holding a crystal glass of scotch.
May you like
It was Helen Vance.
HOOK / CLIFFHANGER: "Hello, Arthur," Helen’s voice rasped through the tablet speaker, cold and unyielding. "You always were the sentimental child. Return the girl to the estate within two hours, or I will order the immediate execution of Dr. Chen and everyone in that medical facility."
