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The single word hung in the sterile air of the hospital corridor, heavy enough to fracture the foundation I had spent decades building. / Chapter 5 / 20

Chapter 5 - The Confession on the Record

Marcus and two armed security guards burst through the NICU doors seconds later, weapons drawn, immobilization cuffs ready.

“Down on the floor! Hands behind your head!” Marcus roared, kicking Julian’s legs out from under him before he could recover his balance.

Julian groaned, wiping a smear of blood from the corner of his mouth as the heavy steel cuffs clicked around his wrists. He looked up at me from the linoleum floor, a twisted, victorious smirk playing across his bruised lips.

“You can lock me up, Mason, but it won’t save her,” Julian wheezed, laughing softly. “The antidote isn't in the hospital formulary. It’s a proprietary neutralizing agent held exclusively by the bio-tech firm we acquired through the shell company last month. And guess who holds the digital decryption key to release the shipment?” He tilted his head toward his pocket. “My phone. Which auto-deletes in exactly fifteen minutes if I don't input my biometric clearance.”

I didn't hesitate. I reached down, yanked Julian’s smartphone from his pocket, and shoved it directly in front of his face, forcing the facial recognition scanner to unlock it.

The screen flashed green: Access Granted.

“Marcus, get the tech team on this device right now,” I barked, tossing the phone to my head of security. “Extract the supply chain manifests for the neutralizing agent and dispatch a helicopter to our private medical warehouse in Atlanta. If that antidote isn't in Claire’s IV within thirty minutes, I’ll bury you in federal prison for the rest of your natural life, Julian.”

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Julian’s smirk finally faltered, replaced by a flicker of genuine panic as the guards hauled him to his feet. “You can’t touch me, Mason! I have co-conspirators! You don't even know who else signed off on the transfer!”

“I don't need to know right now,” I said, turning my back on him as I walked toward the glass incubator where my son slept, completely unaware of the war being fought over his family. “Because I’m going to hunt down every single one of them.”

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