Chapter 3 - The Hostage Situation
My heart stops entirely as I look at the babysitter's motionless body. "What did you do to her?" I scream into the phone. "She just had a little slip and fall," my mother replies casually. Marcus steps into the frame, holding a terrified, crying Lily in his arms. "You have five minutes to wire the money, Meredith," Marcus threatens. They hang up, leaving me staring at a black screen. I rip the IV out of my arm, ignoring the blood dripping down my skin. "I have to get to my baby," I sob, throwing the hospital blanket aside. Grandpa gently but firmly pushes me back onto the mattress. "You cannot fight them in this condition, Meredith," he warns me. He pulls a small, encrypted tablet from his coat pocket and types furiously. "I built the security system in your house, and I never gave your mother the master override." He presses a red button on the screen with a grim expression. "I just locked every door and window in that house from the outside." My mother and Marcus are now trapped inside like rats in a cage. "The police are already on their way," Grandpa assures me. But then the hospital room door swings open. Two uniformed police officers step inside with grim expressions. "Meredith Hayes, you are under arrest for the attempted murder of your sister, Claire."
