Chapter 7 - The Hospital Trap
I stood in the sterile, brightly lit waiting room of the emergency cardiac wing, surrounded by hostile glares.
My brother Mark had arrived twenty minutes earlier, pacing the floor and refusing to look at me.
My mother sat in a wheelchair, playing the role of the devastated, fragile matriarch to perfection.
Every time a nurse or doctor walked by, she would let out a tragic, breathless sob.
"You did this to him, Natalie," she whispered loudly enough for the entire waiting room to hear.
"Your insane, paranoid delusions drove his heart to the breaking point."
I crossed my arms, completely numb to her manipulations.
I knew my father had faked the heart attack to escape the public exposure of his crimes, but I couldn't prove it without a medical report.
A young, exhausted-looking nurse walked out through the swinging double doors and approached our family.
My mother instantly grabbed the nurse's hand, weeping theatrically.
"Please tell me my husband is going to survive!" she cried.
The nurse looked extremely uncomfortable, gently pulling her hand away.
"Mr. Sterling is resting comfortably, but the doctor would like to speak with his wife privately," the nurse said diplomatically.
My mother nodded bravely and allowed Mark to wheel her through the doors, leaving me completely alone in the hallway.
The young nurse lingered behind for a moment, pretending to organize some charts on her clipboard.
She stepped slightly closer to me, keeping her voice incredibly low.
"I am not supposed to tell you this, but your father's EKG was completely normal," the nurse whispered.
My jaw tightened; I knew the old man was faking it.
"He doesn't have a single blocked artery, but your mother just slipped the attending physician a very thick envelope of cash," the nurse revealed.
The corruption ran deeper than I could have ever imagined.
"Thank you," I breathed, truly grateful for her courage.
"That's not all," the nurse continued, her eyes darting nervously down the hall.
"While I was hooking up his IV, I heard your mother talking on her cell phone to Judge Hastings."
Judge Hastings was the corrupt family friend who owed my father countless political favors.
"She told the judge that you were violent and dangerous, and he agreed to sign an emergency ex parte order of removal," the nurse warned.
An ex parte order meant the judge could authorize CPS to take Lena immediately, without me even getting a chance to defend myself in court.
"They are coming for your daughter right now," the nurse said, backing away quickly.
May you like
I didn't wait another second; I sprinted out of the hospital doors and into the pouring rain.
I pulled out my phone and called David, but the call went straight to a terrifying, automated voicemail.
