Chapter 5 - The Frozen Assets
Caleb stared at the medical certificate on the desk, feeling the ground vanish beneath his feet.
Marcus carefully examined the document, his professional composure faltering for a split second.
"Is this true?" Caleb asked, his voice shaking with desperation.
"Unfortunately, yes," Marcus explained with a heavy sigh.
"Under state law, the entire estate is locked in probate, and no funds can be dispersed for at least six months."
Caleb dropped his head into his hands, completely devastated.
Mia didn't have six months; her doctors had warned him she might not last another three weeks without the surgery.
Vanessa walked toward the door, her heels clicking victoriously against the hardwood floor.
"Enjoy your worthless piece of paper, little boy," she mocked before leaving the office.
Caleb rushed back to the hospital, his mind racing for a solution to save his sister.
He ran to the pediatric cardiac ward, carrying a small bouquet of cheap flowers to cheer Mia up.
When he reached room 412, he stopped dead in his tracks.
The bed was completely empty, and the sheets had been stripped down to the bare mattress.
Panic gripped Caleb's throat as he ran to the nurses' station at the end of the hall.
"Where is Mia Miller?" Caleb shouted, startling the head nurse.
The nurse looked at him with immense pity and pulled out a transfer chart.
"I'm so sorry, Caleb, but the hospital administration received a call this afternoon," she explained softly.
"Because her insurance lapsed and you have no ability to pay, she was transferred to a state-run overflow facility."
Caleb knew exactly what that meant.
The state facility was drastically underfunded, understaffed, and completely unequipped to manage a delicate cardiac patient.
He pulled out the secret note the doctor had slipped him the night Arthur died.
It was a combination code to the hospital's secured subterranean pathology laboratory.
Caleb realized Arthur and the doctor must have secured a blood sample before the digoxin ruined the evidence.
If Caleb could prove Vanessa murdered Arthur, she would go to prison, and her claim to the estate would be immediately voided.
Caleb sneaked down to the basement, punched in the code, and stepped into the freezing laboratory.
He found the secure refrigerator, located Arthur's labeled vial, and grabbed it tightly.
As he turned to leave, the heavy metal door of the laboratory slammed shut and locked from the outside.
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A voice crackled over the intercom system mounted on the wall.
"Did you really think it would be that easy?" Julian asked from the control room.
