Chapter 4 - THE LEGAL TRAPDOOR
"If you press that plunger, Doctor, you will be complicit in first-degree murder," Ethan’s voice rang out through the intercom system. He had stopped hitting the glass. He stood completely still, his posture reverting back to the cold, analytical mastermind who dominated courtrooms.
The doctor paused, his hand hovering over the IV tube.
"Don't listen to him!" Victor Cross snapped, glaring at the doctor. "He has no authority here! Inject the sedative so we can transfer her to the transport vehicle!"
"Marcus," Ethan said quietly, not looking back. "Stream this."
Marcus pulled out a military-grade tactical tablet, linking the building’s internal security feed—which he had just hacked—directly to a live broadcast feed connected to the federal prosecutor’s office and every major news network in the country.
"Mr. Cross," Ethan said, pointing a finger at the camera mounted above the door. "You think you trapped me. But as an officer of the court, I am currently executing a Citizen’s Arrest under New York Criminal Procedure Law Section 140.30. You are holding a minor against her will, committing corporate extortion, and administering unauthorized medical procedures to an individual under the protection of a pending federal injunction."
Cross laughed, though his voice had a nervous edge now. "What injunction? You haven't filed one!"
"Check your email, Victor," Ethan replied, a terrifyingly calm smile touching his lips. "Exactly twelve minutes ago, while my associate was stalling the judge, a federal magistrate signed an emergency protective order over Emily Vance-Walker, naming me her temporary legal guardian and declaring this specific facility a crime scene under investigation for corporate fraud."
Cross’s phone buzzed violently in his pocket. He pulled it out, his face turning completely pale as he read the emergency court docket.
Outside the building, the distant, rising wail of police sirens began to echo over the river.
"The police are three minutes away, Victor," Ethan said, his voice dropping to a deadly whisper. "If that needle touches her skin, the charge is attempted murder of a federal witness. You won't be disbarred. You will spend the rest of your life in a maximum-security penitentiary. Drop the syringe, Doctor."
The doctor’s hand shook violently. He dropped the syringe onto the metal tray with a loud clatter and threw his hands in the air.
"You fool!" Cross screamed at the doctor, grabbing a stack of signed legal documents from the desk. He turned to run out the back exit of the lab, but Marcus had already breached the side door, tackling the corrupt attorney to the ground and pinning his arms behind his back.
Ethan kicked through the unlocked electronic lock door and rushed to the gurney. Emily’s eyes fluttered open, heavy with sedation, but when she saw Ethan, a tiny, frail smile spread across her face.
"Dad..." she whispered, her small fingers reaching out.
Ethan caught her hand, holding it tight against his chest. The cold, unfeeling billionaire who had walked past thousands of people without seeing them felt a tear slip down his cheek. "I'm here, Emily. You're safe. I've got you."
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But as the police swarmed the building, Ethan looked down at the documents Cross had dropped. One paper caught his eye—a medical report dated just three days ago.
His eyes widened as he read the lab analysis. The trap was far more twisted than he had ever imagined, and the true mastermind wasn't Arthur Vance.
