Chapter 3 - The Enemy Within
Julian stared at his trusted security chief in absolute disbelief.
He reached into the back of the wrecked van and pulled the terrified Elena out by her trembling hand.
She was bruised and covered in dust, but she was clutching the hospital file against her chest as if her life depended on it.
Julian guided her quickly toward his battered BMW before the police could arrive.
He pushed her into the passenger seat and climbed behind the wheel, speeding away from the crash site.
Elena sat silently for a long moment, tears streaming down her pale, beautiful face.
She looked at the bleeding cut on Julian's cheek and reached out tentatively to touch it.
Julian pulled the car into a dark, abandoned parking garage to hide from the incoming sirens.
He killed the engine and turned to face the woman he had loved and grieved for seven long years.
He asked her with a shaking voice why she had lied about the baby dying.
Elena shook her head violently, sobbing as she opened the thick hospital file on her lap.
She told him that she never lied and that she had been told Julian paid the doctors to tell her the baby was dead.
She pulled out a certified bank transfer receipt dated seven years ago.
It showed a massive payment of two million dollars transferred from Julian's private account to the head of the maternity ward.
Julian felt the air completely leave his lungs as he stared at his own forged signature.
He swore to her on his life that he had never signed that document or made that payment.
He explained that his ruthless manager, Victor, had full control of his finances during that massive transfer window.
Victor had orchestrated the entire lie because a scandal with a pregnant girlfriend would have ruined Julian's multi-million dollar contract in Europe.
Elena realized the horrifying truth that they had both been manipulated by the exact same man.
She told Julian that Victor's men had finally tracked her down yesterday.
She revealed she had only come out of hiding today to give Leo one last memory of his father.
Julian asked her why she was speaking as if they were running out of time.
Elena flipped to the final page of the medical file, her hands shaking uncontrollably.
She pointed to a severe, red-stamped diagnosis across the bottom of Leo's recent blood work.
She tearfully explained that Leo had a rare genetic heart defect that would kill him in a matter of days without a perfect match transplant.
She looked Julian dead in the eye and told him he was the only living match left in the world.
Suddenly, the heavy metal gates of the parking garage violently slammed shut in front of them.
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Floodlights snapped on from every corner, blinding them in a sea of harsh white light.
A squad of heavily armed mercenaries surrounded the BMW with their weapons drawn.
