Chapter 12 - The Prison Visit
The maximum-security visitation room was a depressing landscape of gray cinder blocks and heavily reinforced glass. I sat in a stiff metal chair, clutching the phone receiver, waiting for the heavy steel door on the other side to open.
Miguel walked into the room, looking like a ghost of his former arrogant self. His tailored suits were replaced by a baggy orange jumpsuit, and his perfectly styled hair was shorn close to his scalp. He sat down across from me, picking up the receiver with a look of genuine confusion.
"Maya," Miguel rasped, his voice rough from disuse. "I never thought you would be the one to come gloat."
"I am not here to gloat, Miguel," I said, keeping my tone flat and strictly business. "I need to know the truth about the Vitalis Health acquisition. Why was Ethan so desperate to sell to your division?"
Miguel let out a bitter, echoing laugh that sent a chill down my spine. He leaned closer to the glass, his dark eyes hollow.
"You still think Ethan was the mastermind?" Miguel mocked. "Ethan was a degenerate gambler, yes. But he wasn't trying to steal the company for money, Maya. He was trying to dismantle it before the federal government realized what Richard was building."
I frowned, pressing the receiver tighter against my ear. "What was Richard building?"
Miguel looked around nervously before dropping his voice to an urgent whisper. "Project Genesis. It wasn't a cure for paralysis, Maya. It was a targeted neurotoxin designed to mimic natural organ failure. The ultimate, untraceable assassination weapon for high-bidding government contractors. Richard used his own civilian medical trials to test the mortality rates."
My stomach violently dropped as the pieces clicked together. My father was a test subject. When the side effects became too obvious, Richard used a concentrated dose of the drug to trigger a fatal stroke, silencing my father permanently and burying the evidence.
"Ethan found out," Miguel continued, a desperate edge to his voice. "He panicked. He tried to force a buyout to completely liquidate the research division and save the family name. When Richard refused, Ethan tampered with the brakes. But Richard is the devil, Maya. He survived the crash, realized his family was against him, and used you to legally execute them all."
I stared at my ex-husband, realizing that for the first time in his miserable life, he was telling the absolute truth.
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"You backed the wrong horse, Maya," Miguel whispered, standing up as the prison guard tapped his shoulder. "Richard Vance doesn't have partners. He only has victims who haven't expired yet. Run while you still can."
I hung up the receiver, my reflection staring back at me in the thick security glass. I wasn't going to run. I was going to burn Richard Vance to the ground.
