Chapter 4 - The Poisoned Pen
The deafening shriek of the fire alarm echoed violently through the entire hospital wing.
Strobe lights flashed blindingly, bathing the room in a chaotic, disorienting red glow.
Daniel cursed loudly and immediately shoved the deadly syringe back into his tailored jacket pocket.
Evelyn released my bruised shoulders and took a frantic step away from the bed.
“We need to evacuate the building right now,” Daniel yelled over the piercing siren.
Before they could drag me out of the bed, a young nurse rushed into the room carrying a medical cart.
“Sir, you need to leave the patient here!” the nurse shouted, blocking Daniel's path to my bed.
“Hospital protocol requires staff to evacuate non-ambulatory patients via the service elevators.”
Daniel glared at the nurse, weighing his desperate options in a split second.
“We will be waiting for you outside, Claire,” Evelyn hissed, grabbing Daniel by the arm and pulling him away.
The moment the heavy door swung shut behind them, the nurse reached up and completely disabled the room's alarm speaker.
The flashing red lights continued, but the agonizing noise vanished entirely.
“I pulled the alarm in the hallway to get them away from you,” the nurse whispered urgently.
I stared at her in utter shock as she quickly began detaching my IV lines.
“Who are you?” I asked, my voice trembling with adrenaline and fear.
She looked me dead in the eye, her expression hardened with sheer determination.
“My name is Sarah, and I am Olivia’s older sister,” she revealed quickly.
My heart skipped a painful beat at the mention of my husband's treacherous mistress.
“Your sister is sleeping with my husband and helped murder my baby,” I spat out bitterly.
Sarah shook her head, tears welling up in her frantic eyes.
“Olivia is just a foolish, naive girl who thought Daniel actually loved her,” Sarah explained.
“But she just called me in hysterics because Daniel locked her inside the mansion basement.”
Sarah grabbed a wheelchair from the corner and pulled it right up to the side of my bed.
“If you die tonight, Daniel is going to frame Olivia for the murder and then stage her suicide,” Sarah warned.
I realized Daniel was tying up every single loose end to secure his twenty million dollar payout.
“We have to get out of this hospital before they realize there is no actual fire,” I said, gritting my teeth through the pain.
Sarah helped me into the wheelchair and tossed a heavy doctor's coat over my recognizable hospital gown.
We slipped out the back door of the room and hurried down the empty, chaotic service corridor.
We reached the basement parking garage, the cool night air hitting my face like a blessing.
Sarah pushed my wheelchair rapidly toward her battered, green sedan parked near the exit ramp.
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Suddenly, a massive, black SUV aggressively pulled out from behind a concrete pillar, completely blocking our path.
The driver’s side window rolled down slowly, revealing Detective Harris pointing a suppressed pistol directly at my chest.
