Chapter 3 - The Cake and the Trap
Mark frantically opened his email app while pacing the empty hospital hallway.
He clicked on the encrypted link sent from an untraceable address.
A live video feed popped up on his screen, showing a dark, sterile hospital room.
Emily was lying unconscious in a massive bed, hooked up to dozens of beeping monitors.
Julian was sitting in a chair beside her, gently stroking her pale hand.
Mark felt a murderous rage boiling in his veins at the sight of another man touching his wife.
He yelled into the phone, asking Madison what kind of sick game she was playing.
Madison calmly explained that Emily had reached out to Julian months ago when she suspected Mark was cheating.
She claimed Emily had begged Julian for help to escape her miserable marriage.
Mark furiously denied everything, insisting he had never crossed the line with Madison until today's foolish cake cutting.
Madison sighed, telling him that his intentions did not matter anymore.
She revealed that Julian had filed an emergency restraining order against Mark on Emily's behalf.
If Mark came within five hundred feet of the private facility, he would be arrested instantly.
Mark leaned against the cold wall, feeling his entire world crumbling into pieces.
He begged Madison to at least tell him if his three babies were safe.
Madison went completely silent on the other end of the line.
When she finally spoke, her voice trembled with a strange, dark emotion.
She told Mark to look closer at the live video feed.
May you like
Mark zoomed in on the background of the dark room, his heart stopping entirely.
There were only two medical bassinets in the room instead of three.
