Chapter 4 - The ICU Vigil
The private recovery room at City General Hospital was quiet, save for the steady, rhythmic beep of the fetal monitor.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
The sound was music to my soul. I stood beside the bed, holding Claire’s hand. Her skin was warm now, the heavy sedatives slowly clearing from her bloodstream. The bruises on her shoulder and neck were stark against her pale skin, a physical reminder of how close I had come to losing everything that mattered in this world.
Claire’s eyelids fluttered. She let out a soft groan, her fingers twitching within mine.
"Claire," I whispered, brushing a stray lock of dark hair away from her forehead. "I'm here. I'm right here."
Her eyes slowly opened, clouded with confusion and residual fear. She looked around the sterile white room, panicked, before her gaze locked onto my face. A tear slipped down her cheek.
"Liam..." Her voice was a cracked whisper. "The... the box... it was so dark..."
"I know, baby. I know. It's over. They're arrested. You're safe," I said, leaning down to press my lips against her forehead.
The door hissed open, and Captain Miller stepped in quietly, followed by a social worker and a nurse. Miller held up a hand in a silent apology for interrupting, but his expression was urgent.
"Mrs. Vance, I’m Captain Miller with the police department," he said gently, stepping closer to the bed. "I know you’ve been through a horrific ordeal, but I need to ask you a few questions while your memory is fresh. Did Evelyn and Nathan give you the substance that put you into that state?"
Claire swallowed hard, her hand tightening around my fingers with surprising strength.
"It was evening," Claire whispered, her voice gaining clarity. "Evelyn brought me a glass of prenatal vitamins and water. She insisted I take them because I looked tired. Within twenty minutes... my limbs went numb. I couldn't speak, I couldn't move, but I could hear everything. I heard Evelyn telling Nathan, 'Make sure he finds her when he gets back from overseas. It has to look like a tragedy.'"
"Did they say anything about the office or the safe?" Miller asked, pulling out his notepad.
"Yes," Claire nodded, her eyes flashing with defiance. "When I found the ledger in your father's office yesterday afternoon, I called a lawyer friend of mine from out of state. I sent him digital copies of everything before I locked the drawer back up. Evelyn and Nathan found out. That’s why they did this. It wasn’t just about the company money—it was about what happened to your father."
Miller stopped writing. He looked up sharply. "What happened to your father, Mrs. Vance?"
Claire looked at me, her eyes filled with sorrow. "He didn't die of a natural heart attack, Liam. Your mother and brother poisoned him with digitalis because he threatened to turn them in to the federal authorities for using our shipping containers to traffic illegal contraband across the border."
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The room fell dead silent. The fetal monitor beeped softly in the background.
My mother hadn't just tried to murder my wife and unborn child tonight. She was a patricide. And my brother was her willing accomplice.
