Chapter 1 - The Shark in the Water
Julian’s cologne hung in the sterile hospital air like a toxic cloud. He stood at the foot of my bed, tapping his phone screen with impatient, manic energy. Dr. Vance looked over my chart, his brow furrowed.
“Julian, a declaration of medical incompetency isn’t a simple matter,” Dr. Vance explained, his voice low. “Your uncle has suffered a massive cerebral event, yes, but the swelling is still stabilizing. We need a proper neurological evaluation before we hand over power of attorney.”
“Doctor, with all due respect, look at him,” Julian sneered, gesturing toward me as if I were a piece of broken furniture. “He’s practically in a vegetative state. The company requires immediate executive action. If we wait for a psychiatric evaluation, the board will panic, stock will plummet, and thousands of jobs will be at risk. I have the emergency medical proxy forms right here. I just need your signature.”
Julian pulled a thick stack of papers from his designer briefcase. I didn't need to read the fine print to know what they were. It was a complete surrender of my assets, my medical care, and my company.
I stared at the digital communication board mounted beside my bed. The command I had triggered—CONTACT MY SOLICITOR IMMEDIATELY—was blinking a tiny green light, indicating a message sent to the external server. But had it reached her?
“I cannot sign this without a secondary attending physician’s approval,” Dr. Vance said, crossing his arms.
“Then get one!” Julian snapped, his polite veneer cracking.
Before Dr. Vance could reply, the heavy wooden door of my ICU suite swung open. The rhythmic, sharp clicking of high heels echoed on the linoleum.
Evelyn Sterling did not enter a room; she commanded it. Dressed in a razor-sharp crimson suit, carrying a leather briefcase, my attorney of twenty years stepped into the light. She looked at Julian the way one looks at something scraped off the bottom of a shoe.
“That won’t be necessary, Doctor,” Evelyn said, her voice dripping with ice. “Because if you sign that fraudulent document, I will personally see to it that you lose your medical license before dinner.”
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Julian spun around, his face turning an ugly shade of gray. “Evelyn. What are you doing here?”
“Protecting my client from vultures,” she replied, walking straight to my bedside. She looked down at me, and for a split second, I saw the genuine fear in her eyes before it was replaced by professional steel. “Arthur sent me an emergency distress signal from his communication device exactly fourteen minutes ago. And looking at you, Julian, holding those illegal proxy forms, I can see exactly why.”
