Chapter 2 - The Hospital Secret
I threw on a tailored suit and rushed down to my waiting private driver.
The black town car sped through the empty city streets toward the central hospital.
My mind raced with conflicting emotions of anger, guilt, and cold validation.
I walked through the sliding glass doors of the emergency room and immediately spotted Emily pacing the hallway.
She looked up, her eyes red and puffy from hours of crying.
"He is in the intensive care unit," she whispered, pointing toward the heavy double doors.
I walked past her without a word and entered the sterile, brightly lit room.
My father looked small and incredibly fragile lying amidst a tangle of medical tubes and beeping monitors.
He slowly opened his eyes as I approached the side of his bed.
His trembling hand reached out and grasped a crumpled piece of paper resting on his blanket.
It was the deed of ownership to the family company, printed with my name as the sole majority shareholder.
"You owned it," he rasped, his voice barely audible over the hum of the machines.
"You saved the company, and I treated you like garbage."
I looked down at him, feeling absolutely no satisfaction in his painful realization.
"Where is Uncle Rick?" I demanded, cutting straight to the most urgent problem.
My father closed his eyes, and a single tear slipped down his pale cheek.
"He lied to me about the corporate accounts for years," my father confessed weakly.
"Rick embezzled millions of dollars and framed the company for massive tax fraud."
Before I could ask another question, the door to the hospital room swung wide open.
Three men wearing dark suits and federal badges stepped confidently into the room.
The lead agent locked his cold eyes entirely on my fragile father.
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"We are not here to take a statement," the federal agent announced loudly.
"We are placing you under immediate arrest for conspiracy and international money laundering."
