Chapter 3 - The Poisoned Water
Liam stared at the glowing screen of his phone as a cold sweat broke out across his forehead.
He frantically dialed emergency services and demanded an ambulance immediately.
The wait felt like an absolute eternity as he held Eleanor's trembling hand.
Paramedics finally burst through the cheap motel room door and loaded his mother onto a stretcher.
Liam rode in the back of the ambulance, watching the heart monitor beep erratically.
Once they reached the emergency room, nurses rushed Eleanor behind heavy swinging doors.
Liam paced the waiting room for hours in his damp, wrinkled shirt.
A gray-haired doctor finally emerged with a grim expression on his face.
"Your mother ingested a rare, synthetic neurotoxin that was mixed into the water she swallowed."
The doctor explained that the deadly poison was rapidly attacking her central nervous system.
"We can save her, but the antidote must be flown in from a private medical lab in Switzerland."
Liam grabbed the doctor's shoulders and told him to order the medicine immediately.
"It costs four hundred thousand dollars per vial, and the hospital requires payment upfront for experimental treatments," the doctor replied softly.
Liam's heart sank directly into his stomach.
He had traded his only watch for a motel room, and Cassandra controlled every penny he had ever earned.
He walked out to the hospital courtyard and dialed the number of his oldest friend and business partner, Marcus.
Marcus had always been like a second father to him in the corporate world.
"Marcus, I need half a million dollars wired to the hospital right now," Liam pleaded into the receiver.
There was a long, painful silence on the other end of the line.
"I am so sorry, Liam," Marcus finally whispered.
"Cassandra called an emergency board meeting tonight."
Marcus explained that Cassandra had promoted him to Chief Executive Officer and offered him double his salary.
"If I help you, she will destroy my family, too."
Liam cursed loudly and threw his phone against a brick wall, shattering the screen into pieces.
He realized he was completely isolated and out of options.
As he walked back into the hospital lobby, a sleek black limousine pulled up to the main entrance.
Cassandra stepped out, wearing a flawless red designer dress.
She walked right up to Liam, carrying a small, silver metal briefcase.
She popped the latches open to reveal rows of glowing, blue glass vials.
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"I bought the entire global supply of the antidote," she smiled sweetly.
"And I will only give you one vial if you sign this legal confession stating you stole money from your own company."
