Chapter 4 - The Hospital and the Shield
By midnight, Rebecca was situated in a private VIP suite at St. Jude’s Medical Center. Top-tier specialists had examined her mouth, confirming that the front tooth was fractured at the root and would require extensive reconstructive surgery. Her obstetrician performed a thorough ultrasound, confirming that despite the trauma and high stress levels, the baby boy growing in her womb was miraculously safe and unharmed.
Outside her door, the hospital corridor looked like a military outpost. Four of Harrison’s elite security guards stood at attention, blocking anyone without clearance.
At 1:00 AM, the elevator doors chimed, and Trevor marched down the hall, flanked by a sleazy local defense attorney named Marcus Vance. Trevor’s face was flushed with frantic bravado. He had recovered his confidence once he realized Harrison Sterling’s daughter had left his house without calling the police.
“Step aside!” Trevor demanded, marching up to the security detail. “I am her husband! I have a legal right to see my wife and child!”
“You have no rights here, Mr. Hayes,” a deep, resonant voice echoed down the hall.
Harrison stepped out of Rebecca’s suite, buttoning his suit jacket. Behind him stood lead counsel for Sterling Enterprises, a shark-eyed corporate litigator named Arthur Pendelton, carrying a thick leather briefcase.
Trevor sneered, trying to puff out his chest. “Oh, please. You think you can intimidate me with your fancy lawyers? Rebecca fell! She tripped over a toy! Any cop will believe me over your biased word. If you try to keep my wife from me, I’ll sue for kidnapping and parental alienation!”
Arthur Pendelton adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, offering Trevor a patronizing, pitying smile.
“Mr. Hayes,” Pendelton said smoothly, pulling a sheaf of documents from his briefcase. “Before you make statements you will regret for the rest of your natural life, you should know that thirty minutes ago, our forensic accounting team accessed your corporate server at Apex Financial.”
Trevor’s smug expression flickered. “What are you talking about?”
“Embezzlement, tax fraud, corporate espionage, and misappropriation of pension funds totaling over four hundred and fifty thousand dollars,” Pendelton rattled off calmly, flipping a page. “Federal offenses, Mr. Hayes. The FBI’s white-collar crime division already has the hard drive. An arrest warrant is being processed as we speak.”
May you like
Trevor staggered backward, clutching the wall. “That’s... that’s impossible. You hacked my system?”
“We didn't hack anything,” Harrison said coldly, stepping closer until he was towering directly over Trevor. “You were sloppy. You left your ledger open on your home desktop while you were busy abusing my daughter. You thought you were the king of your little castle, Trevor. But you were just a mouse playing in a lion's den.”
