Chapter 3 - The Blackout Escape
The sudden darkness threw Julian and Eleanor into complete panic.
The guard holding my baby stumbled backward in the pitch-black room.
I felt a strong hand grab my arm and pull me quietly out of the hospital bed.
It was Doctor Evans, using the cover of darkness to help me escape.
He quickly shoved a heavy medical cart directly into the armed guard's legs.
The guard cursed loudly and dropped the baby into the doctor's waiting arms.
"Follow me closely," Doctor Evans whispered as he handed my crying son back to me.
I clutched my baby to my chest and followed the doctor out into the dark hallway.
Julian was screaming furiously at his guards to find us immediately.
We navigated the confusing labyrinth of the maternity ward using only the doctor's memory.
"How did the federal authorities lock down the building?" the doctor asked breathlessly.
I pulled my hidden burner phone from my hospital bag.
"They didn't," I confessed quietly.
"I used my old auditor credentials to hack the hospital's mainframe and trigger a false alarm."
Doctor Evans looked at me with a mixture of shock and profound respect.
"We need to get to the underground parking garage before the backup generators kick in," he said.
We hurried down a dark stairwell, my legs trembling with every single painful step.
I used my phone to finally send the massive packet of encrypted evidence to the FBI.
The files contained every single shell company and illegal transaction Julian had ever made.
We pushed through the heavy fire doors and stumbled into the cold concrete garage.
I thought we had finally made it to safety.
But the headlights of a black SUV suddenly flicked on, blinding us completely.
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Julian was standing in front of the vehicle, holding a heavy silver pistol aimed directly at my heart.
"You really thought you could outsmart me, Vivian?" he sneered.
