Chapter 6 - The Traitor
Every head in the hospital room instantly swiveled toward the open doorway.
The realization that Henry's accomplice was in the very same building sent a spike of pure, unadulterated terror straight into my veins.
"Chloe, lock down the entire hospital floor right now!" Richard roared into his secure radio.
"Already on it, boss," Chloe's voice cracked back, accompanied by the blaring sound of the hospital's emergency lockdown alarms.
Heavy steel security doors slammed shut at the end of the corridor, effectively turning the ward into an inescapable fortress.
"Who would betray you like this?" my mother asked Richard, her voice trembling with intense fear.
"Only three people in my entire organization have the security clearance to access those specific financial records," Richard analyzed quickly.
I looked back at the laptop, my fingers flying as I attempted to trace the MAC address of the traitor's device.
"The signal is moving," I warned them, watching a flashing blue dot navigate the hospital's digital floor plan.
"He's heading toward the eastern stairwell," I shouted over the blaring sirens.
Richard drew a sleek, matte-black pistol from an ankle holster, a sight that made my parents gasp in shock.
"Stay with Amy and lock this door," Richard ordered my father before sprinting out into the hallway.
I continued to track the signal, praying that Richard would intercept the traitor before they could escape and warn Henry.
The blue dot on my screen suddenly stopped moving, hovering perfectly still on the third-floor landing.
"Richard, he's trapped in the stairwell between the third and fourth floors," I communicated through the open radio channel.
I heard the sound of heavy boots kicking open a metal door, followed immediately by Richard's booming voice.
"Drop the laptop and put your hands on your head!" Richard yelled over the comms.
A tense, suffocating silence followed, broken only by the sound of a very familiar, arrogant laugh.
"You always were too predictable, Richard," the voice echoed through the radio, sending a chill down my spine.
It was David Sterling, Richard's most trusted executive vice president and his supposedly loyal right-hand man.
"David, you sold out my company and helped a madman kidnap a little girl?" Richard asked, his voice dripping with profound betrayal.
"Business is business, Richard, and Marcus Thorne simply pays a lot better than you do," David sneered coldly.
"I've already transferred the settlement funds to Thorne's accounts, and Henry has exactly what he needs," David gloated.
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Suddenly, the sound of three deafening gunshots erupted through the radio, making me scream in absolute terror.
"Richard!" I cried out, but the radio line went completely, chillingly dead.
