Chapter 7 - The Family Secret
The photograph of my brother lying lifeless in the van made my blood run entirely cold.
Before I could even process the horror, the door to my room swung open with violent force.
My mother marched into the room, her designer purse clutched tightly against her chest.
Her face was devoid of the usual confused, innocent expression she had worn for decades.
She locked the door behind her and pulled the blinds tightly shut, plunging the room into shadows.
She walked directly to my bedside and demanded that I sign the papers my father had left.
I stared at her in absolute disbelief, realizing she was entirely complicit in this massive criminal conspiracy.
She coldly confessed that she had known about the money laundering and the offshore accounts for years.
She claimed that maintaining our wealthy lifestyle was far more important than my naive sense of morality.
My mother revealed that she was the one who had hired the men to intercept Ethan in the hallway.
She threatened to have my brother permanently silenced if I did not legally transfer the assets right now.
She slammed a pen onto my tray table and screamed at me to be a dutiful daughter for once in my life.
Suddenly, the door handle rattled violently, followed by the sound of a heavy shoulder slamming against the wood.
The door frame splintered, and the lock finally gave way with a loud, metallic crack.
Marissa burst into the room, followed closely by Daniel, who was breathing heavily and covered in sweat.
Marissa had successfully blackmailed the corrupt judge, securing Daniel's immediate release from the county jail.
My mother stumbled backward in shock, dropping her designer purse onto the hospital floor.
Daniel rushed to my side, wrapping his arms around me and promising that the nightmare was almost over.
My mother began to cry, realizing that she had completely lost control of the situation.
She desperately reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a small, black emergency radio.
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She pressed the transmission button and frantically yelled for the security team to initiate protocol zero.
The hospital's emergency sirens instantly began to wail, and heavy steel blast doors descended over every exit in the ward.
