Chapter 2 - The Red Flags in the Heat
Within twelve minutes, Adrian’s private medical team arrived in an unmarked armored ambulance, bypassing the public emergency room delays entirely. Dr. Julian Vance, who had served the Vale family through two generations of violent disputes and private crises, immediately took charge of Owen inside the estate’s ground-floor medical clinic.
Hannah remained by the door, holding Maisie’s hand tightly. She was visibly trembling, terrified that her presence was an intrusion, yet unable to tear her eyes away from the fragile infant fighting for stability. Maisie held her toy stethoscope proudly, whispering comfort to herself.
""His core body temperature reached a dangerous one hundred and four point two,"" Dr. Vance announced after twenty excruciating minutes of intravenous rehydration, gentle cooling pads, and continuous monitoring. ""A few more minutes in that greenhouse environment, Adrian, and he would have suffered irreversible neurological trauma. But his vitals are stabilizing now. The boy is resilient, just like his father.""
Adrian stood over the examination crib, his arms bandaged where the glass had sliced him, his tailored suit ruined with blood and sweat. He watched Owen’s chest rise and fall in a steady, peaceful rhythm. A terrifying wave of vulnerability swept over him. Adrian Vale had survived street wars, federal indictments, and rival syndicates, but the thought of losing this helpless baby paralyzed his soul.
""Thank you, Julian,"" Adrian said quietly. Then he turned his attention toward the doorway, where Hannah and Maisie were quietly trying to slip away to avoid causing any inconvenience.
""Hannah. Stop,"" Adrian commanded gently.
Hannah froze, her head bowed respectfully. ""Mr. Vale, I'm so sorry Maisie interrupted your legal meeting earlier. She didn't mean to cause chaos, she just—""
""Did you hear what the doctor said?"" Adrian interrupted, walking toward them and crouching down to eye level with the four-year-old girl. He looked into Maisie’s bright, innocent eyes. ""Your daughter didn't cause chaos. She saved the only thing in this world that matters to me.""
Maisie gave a shy smile and held up her red plastic toy. ""I'm a doctor like him, Mr. Vale. I check Owen’s heart when Miss Hannah cleans the nursery.""
""You are the best doctor in this house,"" Adrian said with genuine warmth, a soft smile breaking through his stone-cold exterior. He looked up at Hannah. ""From this moment on, your duties in the kitchen are finished. You are officially Owen’s private governess, with triple your current salary. And Maisie will have anything she ever needs.""
Hannah gasped, her hand flying to her mouth in utter disbelief. ""Mr. Vale, I couldn't possibly... that's too much.""
""It's settled,"" Adrian said, leaving no room for argument. But then his expression hardened back into the ruthless strategist who controlled the city's most powerful underground empire. ""Now, Maisie, I need you to tell me the absolute truth. When you saw Owen in the car, did you see anyone else near the SUV?""
Maisie scrunched up her nose, thinking hard. ""The pretty lady with the yellow hair was talking to the man with the shiny glasses by the rose bushes. She gave him a little black box, and he put it in his pocket. Then the lady walked inside, and the man walked to the garage.""
Adrian’s spine turned to pure ice. The pretty lady with yellow hair was Natalie. But the man with the shiny glasses was not an estate guard.
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It was Grant Mercer, Victor Shaw’s junior associate.
Adrian stood up slowly, the pieces of a sickening puzzle beginning to click together in his mind. The custody hearing tomorrow wasn't just a bitter dispute between a grieving father and an overbearing aunt. It was an orchestrated execution of his parental rights—and quite possibly, a cold-blooded attempt at something far more sinister.
