Chapter 5 - The Frame Job
The security guards instantly tightened their grip on Maria’s arms.
“No! He’s lying!” Maria screamed, struggling violently against the large men.
“He ordered the hit! I heard him in the waiting room!”
Charles Voss smiled, a thin, cruel expression that didn't reach his cold eyes.
“A desperate lie from a desperate criminal,” Charles dismissed her smoothly.
Dr. Park stepped forward, clutching the syringe tightly in the forceps.
“Mr. Voss, this woman hit the emergency button and saved his life,” Dr. Park argued.
“Why would she attempt murder and then call for help?”
Charles adjusted his expensive silk tie, looking at the doctor with total condescension.
“She obviously panicked when she realized she couldn't escape,” Charles lied flawlessly.
“I want the police called immediately, and I want her removed from my hospital.”
The guards dragged Maria out of the room, ignoring her desperate pleas for justice.
They shoved her into a small holding room near the security desk and locked the heavy door.
Maria slumped onto the cold metal bench, burying her face in her hands.
She had tried to do the right thing, and now she was going to prison for a crime she stopped.
Who would take care of Sophia while she rotted in a jail cell?
Tears of absolute despair streamed down her face as she realized Charles Voss had won.
She sat in the freezing room for two agonizing hours, waiting for the police to arrive.
Suddenly, the heavy metal door clicked open.
It wasn't a police officer who walked into the holding room.
It was a tall man wearing a sharp charcoal suit, carrying a sleek leather briefcase.
He looked exactly like the corporate sharks who surrounded Daniel Whitfield, but his eyes were surprisingly kind.
“Maria Alvarez?” the man asked softly.
“Yes,” Maria answered, her voice trembling.
“Who are you?”
The man closed the door behind him and locked it securely from the inside.
“My name is Elias Vance,” the man said, opening his briefcase.
“I am Daniel Whitfield’s personal, private attorney.”
Maria backed away, assuming he was here to force a confession out of her.
“I didn't try to kill him, I swear!” Maria pleaded.
Elias held up a hand to calm her down.
“I know you didn't, Maria,” Elias said gently.
“I know exactly what Charles Voss is trying to do.”
Elias pulled a thick stack of legal documents from his briefcase and placed them on the bench.
“Daniel trusted me to handle his private affairs if anything suspicious ever happened to him,” Elias explained.
“He suspected Charles was embezzling millions from the company long before the car crash.”
Maria looked at the attorney, entirely confused.
“Then why didn't Daniel fire him?” she asked.
“Because Charles has half the board of directors in his pocket,” Elias sighed.
“Daniel needed concrete proof before he could strike, and the crash happened before he found it.”
Elias pulled a small, silver flash drive from his pocket and held it up.
“This drive contains the proof Daniel was looking for,” Elias revealed.
“But Charles changed the security codes at the estate, and I can't get inside to access Daniel's private server to verify the files.”
Elias looked at Maria with a sudden, desperate intensity.
“You are the head housekeeper, Maria. You have the master access codes to the entire estate, don't you?”
Maria nodded slowly, realizing what he was asking her to do.
“I can get you out of this hospital right now, completely bypassing the police,” Elias offered.
“But you have to take me to the estate tonight and help me access that server.”
Maria hesitated, knowing if they were caught, she would be facing massive federal charges.
But before she could answer, Elias’s phone buzzed loudly in his pocket.
He looked at the text message, his face draining of all color.
May you like
“We are out of time,” Elias whispered in horror.
“Charles just authorized an emergency medical transfer. They are moving Daniel to a private, unregulated facility right now.”
