Chapter 3 - The Service Elevator
The two massive security guards grabbed Claire by her upper arms with terrifying, bruising force.
She screamed out in sudden agony as her fresh surgical incision stretched dangerously under the violent movement.
She desperately looked at Adrian, begging him to look into her eyes and see the absolute truth.
Adrian simply turned his back on her, staring blankly at the two incubators while his mother smiled triumphantly.
The guards forcefully dragged Claire out of the neonatal unit and down the long, brightly lit corridor.
They did not take her toward the main lobby where the public could see her crying and struggling.
They pulled her toward the restricted freight corridors in the dusty, unfinished wing of the massive hospital.
Claire knew with absolute certainty that if they got her out of this building, she would never see her babies again.
She let her legs go completely limp, forcing the guards to carry her entire dead weight.
As they awkwardly adjusted their grip, a young female nurse suddenly stepped out of a nearby supply closet.
The nurse held a heavy metal oxygen tank in her hands, her eyes wide with sheer panic and adrenaline.
Without saying a single word, the nurse swung the heavy metal cylinder directly into the back of the first guard's head.
The massive man collapsed to the linoleum floor instantly, completely unconscious.
The second guard reached frantically for the taser on his duty belt.
Claire used her remaining strength to kick her heavy hospital slipper directly into the guard's kneecap.
He buckled in pain, and the brave nurse slammed the oxygen tank into his shoulder, knocking him out cold.
The nurse quickly grabbed Claire's arm and dragged her toward the blinking lights of the service elevator.
She frantically pressed the call button, introducing herself as Sarah in a breathless, trembling whisper.
Sarah explained that she had heard Victoria bragging about the forged custody papers and couldn't let them steal a mother's children.
The heavy metal doors of the service elevator finally groaned open with a loud, mechanical ding.
Claire and Sarah rushed inside, desperately mashing the button for the hospital's underground parking garage.
The doors slowly began to slide shut, offering a brief, beautiful promise of escape.
Suddenly, a pristine, custom-made leather shoe wedged itself between the closing metal doors.
The doors violently retracted, revealing a tall, imposing man wearing a completely bespoke black suit.
He had the exact same striking gray-green eyes as Adrian, but they were entirely devoid of any human soul.
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It was Julian Vale, Adrian's notoriously dangerous and deeply psychotic older brother.
Julian stepped into the elevator, pulled a suppressed pistol from his jacket, and pressed the cold barrel directly against Sarah's forehead.
