Chapter 8 - The Confession
I collapsed onto the bathroom floor and wrapped my arms around both of them.
Chloe was crying softly into Mark's hospital gown.
Mark dropped the bloody scalpel he had used to defend our daughter.
He was incredibly weak from the neurotoxin, but adrenaline was keeping him conscious.
He looked at me and begged for my absolute forgiveness.
He confessed that Veronica was telling the truth about the blackmail.
He had discovered her money laundering scheme six months ago.
Instead of calling the authorities, he got greedy and demanded a massive cut of the profits.
He set up the fake passports because he knew the cartel would eventually come for him.
He hid my passport at his private bank box so they could not trace my identity.
He wanted me to be safe and clear of his horrific mistakes.
I looked at the man I had loved for twelve years.
He was a criminal, a liar, and a complete fool.
But he had just risked his final ounce of strength to save our daughter.
I told him we could figure out the legal consequences later.
Right now, we needed to escape the hospital before Veronica's backup arrived.
I helped Mark to his feet and carried Chloe in my arms.
We sneaked out the emergency exit and moved down the back staircase.
We reached the ground floor just as a swarm of heavily armed police officers breached the lobby.
The local police had finally tracked Rachel's stolen ambulance to the garage.
I flagged down the lead detective and screamed for medical help.
Paramedics rushed forward and caught Mark as his legs finally gave out.
They loaded him onto a stretcher and applied oxygen masks to both him and Chloe.
I held their hands tightly as they were pushed toward the secure trauma wing.
The detective told me that Veronica had been apprehended in the parking garage.
Rachel had managed to break her kneecap with the crowbar before the police arrived.
The nightmare was violently ending, but the legal battle was just beginning.
I sat in the waiting room for exactly three hours.
The lead surgeon finally walked through the double doors.
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He took his mask off and looked directly at me.
He said they did everything they could, but Mark's heart had stopped during surgery.
