Chapter 5 - The Antidote and the Trap
Dr. Julian Voss let out a high-pitched, hysterical laugh that echoed off the concrete.
“You can’t touch me!” Voss sneered, struggling against Marcus’s iron grip. “Even if you kill me, Matthew dies! The exact formula I gave him has a half-life of seventy-two hours! Only I have the precise chelating antidote to reverse the cardiac blockage! If I die, your son dies with me!”
Arthur paused. He slowly turned around, his eyes locking onto the doctor.
“An antidote,” Arthur repeated, a dangerous, razor-thin smile touching the corner of his mouth.
“That’s right!” Voss barked, high on his own perceived leverage. “You want your son to live? You let me walk out of here right now. You give me a private jet to Zurich, and twenty million dollars transferred to an offshore account. Within twelve hours, I’ll send you the neutralizing formula.”
Marcus looked at Arthur, waiting for an order.
Arthur slowly walked over to his drafting table, picked up a small glass vial that Marcus had confiscated from Voss’s coat pocket, and held it up to the overhead light.
“You think you’re the smartest man in Texas, Julian,” Arthur said smoothly. “You think because you wear a white coat and sit on hospital boards that you understand leverage.”
“It’s basic biology, Arthur!” Voss shouted. “You can’t negotiate with a failing heart!”
“I don’t need to negotiate with biology,” Arthur replied. He set the vial down, pulled out his phone, and tapped speakerphone.
A crisp, professional voice answered immediately. “Dr. Harris here. Mr. Bennett? Is there an update?”
“Dr. Harris,” Arthur said clearly, looking straight into Voss’s horrified eyes. “We have Dr. Voss in custody. He has confirmed the administration of a chronic cardiac glycoside variant matching Eleanor’s autopsy profile. He claims he is the only one with the neutralizing chelating agent.”
Over the speakerphone, Dr. Harris let out a sharp breath. “I suspected as much when I reviewed Matthew’s secondary blood panels this afternoon. The toxin blocks potassium channels in the myocardial tissue.”
“Can you synthesize the antidote from his clinical notes?” Arthur asked.
“I already did,” Dr. Harris replied calmly. “When you called me an hour ago to tell me about Mrs. Gable’s discovery, I pulled Voss’s digital pharmaceutical orders from the North River database. The chelating agent is a standard synthetic amino-peptide used in acute digitalis overdoses. We administered it to Matthew ten minutes ago.”
Dr. Julian Voss’s face drained of every drop of color. His jaw dropped open, and his knees buckled beneath him.
“N-No...” Voss stammered, shaking his head violently. “That’s impossible! The encryption code on my private server—!”
“Was firewalled by a high school kid ten years ago when you first set it up,” Arthur said, stepping closer to the broken doctor. “You’re a brilliant physician, Julian. But you’re a terrible businessman. You underestimated your competition.”
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Marcus Vance shoved Voss hard, sending him crashing down onto the concrete floor.
“Lock him in the secure holding vault,” Arthur ordered, his voice echoing through the basement. “And call the Texas Rangers. Tell them Dr. Julian Voss has a full confession to make regarding corporate espionage, medical malpractice, and premeditated murder.”
