Chapter 2 - The Ransom
The hospital monitor beside my bed began to beep wildly as my heart rate skyrocketed in pure panic.
I stared at the thick folder resting on my chest, feeling as though the sterile room was spinning completely out of control.
Henry lunged toward the bed to grab the documents, his eyes wide with a feral intensity.
One of Richard's massive security guards stepped forward and effortlessly shoved him back against the wall.
"You're out of your mind, Vance!" Henry screamed, his face twisting into an ugly mask of desperation.
"The police are waiting for you in the lobby right now, Henry," Richard replied calmly, adjusting his pristine silk tie.
"You can't prove anything about those brakes, and you certainly can't take my daughter away from me," Henry spat maliciously.
At the mention of Emily, a surge of adrenaline cut right through the heavy painkillers clouding my brain.
"Don't you dare go near Emily!" I shrieked, struggling uselessly against the heavy plaster casts pinning my legs to the bed.
Henry shot me a terrifying, dead-eyed smile that made my blood run absolutely cold in my veins.
"You always were too dramatic, Amy," Henry sneered before violently shoving past the second security guard and sprinting down the hallway.
Richard immediately barked an order to his men to chase him down, but the hospital corridors were crowded with midday visitors.
"I am so sorry, Amy, but we will find him and ensure he goes to prison for a very long time," Richard promised, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
A sleek, professional woman wearing a sharp blazer stepped into the room holding an encrypted tablet.
"Mr. Vance, this is Chloe, my head of corporate security and a former federal agent," Richard introduced her.
Chloe nodded sharply, already tapping away at her screen to access the hospital's surveillance network.
"We are locking down the building and dispatching a tactical team to your daughter's elementary school right now," Chloe assured me.
For a brief moment, I felt a glimmer of hope that this nightmare would soon be over and my child would be safe.
Then, the heavy plastic telephone on the hospital bedside table suddenly began to ring with a shrill, piercing tone.
The caller ID displayed my mother-in-law's home phone number, a detail that immediately made my stomach churn.
With trembling fingers, I picked up the receiver and pressed it tightly against my ear.
"Amy, it's Kathleen, your mother-in-law," the voice on the other end said with chilling smoothness.
"Where is my daughter?" I demanded, my voice shaking with raw maternal fury.
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"Emily is right here in my car, eating some lovely ice cream," Kathleen replied calmly.
"If you ever want to see her again, you are going to sign that five-million-dollar settlement from Vance directly over to Henry's offshore account."
