Chapter 9 - The Trap is Set
Winston answered the phone, keeping his eyes on the chaotic scene unfolding in the waiting area.
Marlene was screaming at the detectives, demanding they release her son.
Corey was quietly backing away, trying to slip out the fire exit before the cops noticed him.
“Speak,” Winston commanded into the phone.
Elias’s voice came through the speaker, sounding entirely panicked.
“Winston, you need to get Brooklyn out of the hospital right this second,” Elias warned.
“Why?” Winston asked, his hand dropping to the weapon concealed under his jacket.
“I just cracked the offshore trust account completely,” Elias said rapidly.
“The money didn't go to Cassandra. It was a decoy account set up in her name.”
Brooklyn leaned closer to the phone, her heart skipping a beat.
“Where did the money go?” she asked.
“It went directly to the private accounts of Dr. Keller,” Elias revealed.
Winston froze.
Dr. Keller was the private physician who had treated Brooklyn when Winston first pulled her from the lake.
“Keller sold us out,” Winston growled.
“Worse,” Elias corrected.
“Keller is the one who originally diagnosed Brooklyn with premature ovarian failure five years ago.”
The floor seemed to drop completely out from beneath Brooklyn’s feet.
“He faked my medical records,” she realized, sickened by the profound depth of the betrayal.
“He was working with Bradley the entire time to manufacture a motive for my suicide.”
Winston grabbed Brooklyn’s hand and pulled her forcefully toward the service elevator.
“If Keller knows you are alive, and Keller is working with your family, they are going to silence you permanently tonight,” Winston said.
They practically sprinted down the sterile hallway, avoiding the medical staff.
The elevator doors pinged open.
Standing inside the car was Dr. Keller.
He wasn't holding a medical chart.
He was holding a suppressed pistol aimed directly at Brooklyn’s chest.
“Going down?” Keller smiled thinly.
Winston didn't hesitate for a fraction of a second.
He shoved Brooklyn hard against the wall and lunged forward, grabbing the barrel of the gun.
The suppressed weapon fired a quiet, lethal thwip.
The bullet shattered the glass panel of the elevator wall.
Winston drove his knee upward, catching Keller squarely in the sternum.
The doctor gasped, dropping the weapon as the air left his lungs.
Winston delivered a brutal right hook to Keller’s jaw, knocking him unconscious instantly.
Winston kicked the gun out of the elevator and dragged Keller’s limp body out of the car.
He pushed Brooklyn inside and hit the button for the underground parking garage.
“Are you hurt?” Winston asked, breathing heavily.
“No,” she shook her head, terrified but entirely unharmed.
The elevator descended rapidly.
“We have Bradley in police custody, and we have the corrupt doctor,” Winston said, adjusting his suit jacket.
“The nightmare is over, Brooklyn.”
The doors opened to the dark, empty parking garage.
Brooklyn stepped out, feeling a massive, overwhelming sense of relief wash over her tired body.
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She had defeated her husband, uncovered the massive conspiracy, and secured her future.
But as she walked toward the bulletproof SUV, she noticed a thick manila folder resting on the hood of the vehicle.
