Chapter 14 - The Empty Hospital Room
When the lights returned, Margaret was in custody.
The cryogenic container was empty.
There had never been a fifth embryo inside.
It was another weapon designed to control Arthur.
But Richard’s threat was real.
At the hospital, Elena’s guard lay unconscious in a supply room. A nurse’s badge had been stolen.
Elena was gone.
Security footage showed her being wheeled through a service entrance by a man in surgical scrubs.
Richard had placed a blanket over her face to hide her identity.
Leo remained safe in the secured nursery.
Arthur held his son for only a few seconds before handing him to Rebecca and Caroline.
“Do not leave this floor.”
Caroline nodded through tears.
“I won’t fail her again.”
Detective Hayes traced Richard’s stolen vehicle using traffic cameras.
He drove toward Bennett Medical Supply’s old manufacturing plant, which had closed two years earlier.
Arthur knew the building well.
It contained underground testing rooms, freight tunnels, and an executive archive vault.
Richard called again.
“Bring the metal box.”
“You already lost.”
“No. I lost Margaret. She was always disposable.”
Margaret heard the recording from the back of a police cruiser.
Her face collapsed.
For the first time, she understood that Richard had never planned to share the company with her.
Arthur continued speaking.
“If Elena is hurt, nothing will protect you.”
“She is alive. For now.”
Richard demanded the trust amendment and the archive drive by dawn.
Hayes refused to let Arthur enter the plant alone.
“He expects police.”
“He also expects me to care more about Elena than evidence.”
“You do.”
“That is why he thinks I’m predictable.”
Arthur studied the plant blueprints.
The executive vault had two entrances. Richard knew about the main corridor.
He likely did not know about an unfinished ventilation access route Charles had shown Arthur as a teenager.
Arthur, Hayes, and a tactical team entered through the lower maintenance tunnel.
They found Elena’s hospital bracelet near a stairwell.
A few feet away lay drops of blood.
Arthur’s chest tightened.
“She’s injured.”
The trail led to the executive boardroom.
Through a narrow glass panel, Arthur saw Elena tied to a chair. She was pale, weak, and connected to a portable IV.
Richard stood behind her holding a syringe.
On the conference table sat a laptop connected to company accounts.
He was transferring millions overseas.
Margaret’s access credentials had stopped working after her arrest, so Richard needed Arthur’s biometric authorization.
Richard pressed the needle against Elena’s neck.
“I know you’re outside,” he called.
Arthur froze.
Richard smiled toward the glass.
“You still wear your father’s watch, Arthur. It broadcasts a Bluetooth signal.”
Arthur removed the watch.
Too late.
Steel security shutters slammed over every exit.
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Richard had sealed them inside the building.
👉 Richard had trapped Arthur and the police underground, while the syringe against Elena’s neck held enough medication to stop her weakened heart.
