Chapter 5 - The Poisoned Veins
I stared at the computer screen, completely unable to comprehend what my brother had just said.
"What are you talking about?" I demanded, my voice barely above a whisper.
Gabriel leaned closer to the camera, a sinister grin spreading across his identical face.
"Did you honestly think the best doctors in the world could not fix a simple spinal fracture?" Gabriel mocked.
"Your trusted corporate doctor works for me, Ethan."
"The daily pain medication he prescribes you is laced with a rare synthetic neurotoxin."
"Your legs do not work because I have been chemically paralyzing you every single day for six months."
The reality of his words struck me harder than any physical blow I had ever taken.
The pills I took religiously every morning to numb my agonizing back pain were the very things keeping me in this chair.
Gabriel abruptly ended the video call, leaving me staring at my own horrified reflection in the black screen.
I frantically dug into my jacket pocket and pulled out the orange prescription bottle.
I hurled the plastic bottle against the motel wall, scattering the tiny white pills across the filthy carpet.
"Vance!" I shouted, tears of pure rage burning my eyes.
Vance rushed into the room, his weapon drawn.
"Gabriel has been poisoning me," I choked out, pointing a trembling finger at the scattered pills.
"My legs are not permanently broken."
Vance immediately understood the gravity of the situation.
"If you stop taking the toxin cold turkey, the neurological withdrawal could trigger a fatal heart attack," Vance warned grimly.
"I do not care if it kills me," I stated with absolute conviction.
"I am going to walk into my building and take my life back."
The first few hours without the medication were a mild, creeping ache in my bones.
By midnight, my body erupted into an uncontrollable, violent fever.
I thrashed against the mattress, screaming in agony as thousands of invisible needles pierced my dormant nerve endings.
Vance held my shoulders down, forcing me to drink water and desperately trying to keep my core temperature from reaching a lethal level.
Just as the sun began to rise, the agonizing pain suddenly stopped, replaced by a strange, tingling warmth.
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I looked down at my right foot, focused every ounce of my willpower, and successfully twitched my big toe.
Before I could celebrate the miracle, a deafening explosion ripped the motel room door completely off its hinges.
