Chapter 1 - The Trapped Predator
The heavy click of the deadbolt echoed like a gunshot through the small examination room.
Edric froze with his hands still resting under the running water of the stainless steel sink.
His dark eyes slowly lifted to meet his own reflection in the mirror above the basin.
Our mother dropped her expensive leather purse onto the cold linoleum floor.
She rushed toward the solid wooden door and violently rattled the brass handle.
It completely refused to budge.
Panic instantly replaced the calculated calm that Edric had maintained for years.
He turned off the faucet and aggressively grabbed a handful of paper towels.
I lay perfectly still on the examination bed, my heart hammering violently against my bruised ribs.
Beside me, Chloe remained unconscious, her breathing shallow and desperately uneven.
"Open this door right now!" my mother screamed, pounding her fists against the reinforced glass window.
Through the narrow pane, I could see Dr. Cooper standing safely at the end of the hallway.
He was speaking urgently into a red telephone mounted on the hospital wall.
Edric realized exactly what was happening, and the mask of the concerned father finally shattered.
He grabbed a heavy metal IV pole and smashed it against the thick glass of the door.
The glass spider-webbed but miraculously held its shape.
In the distance, the faint wail of approaching police sirens pierced the quiet night.
Edric dropped the bent IV pole and frantically searched the small room for another way out.
There were no other doors, and the single window was barred from the outside.
He was entirely trapped, and the reality of his impending arrest made him terrifyingly unpredictable.
The sirens grew deafeningly loud as multiple police cruisers pulled up directly outside the emergency room entrance.
Heavy footsteps pounded down the hallway toward our locked door.
"Edric, what are we going to do?" my mother cried, backing away from the door.
He did not answer her.
Instead, his gaze slowly shifted away from the door and landed directly on me.
His eyes were completely hollow, devoid of any human empathy.
He reached into the medical supply tray resting on the counter and pulled out a silver surgical scalpel.
"If I am going to prison, Faye, I am making sure you never get to spend a single dime of that money," he whispered.
May you like
The lock on the door suddenly clicked open from the outside.
As armed police officers burst into the room, Edric lunged across the floor and pressed the razor-sharp scalpel directly against Chloe's throat.
