Chapter 8 - THE WHISPER IN THE HALLWAY
At 1:00 PM, Dr. Marcus Vance stood inside his private top-floor corner office, staring out at the rain-slicked city through floor-to-ceiling windows.
The heavy mahogany door clicked open behind him.
Julian Cross—Nathan’s younger brother—stepped into the office, closing the door quietly behind himself. Julian wore a sharp suit, but his face was pale and slick with sweat.
"You told me the dose was fatal, Marcus!" Julian hissed, his voice hushed and frantic as he stepped toward Vance’s desk. "You said the paralytic would stop his heart completely within forty-eight hours in cold storage! The funeral was supposed to be the end of it!"
Dr. Vance turned around slowly, his expression entirely unbothered, his wire-rimmed glasses catching the cold grey light from the window.
"Your brother’s metabolism was unusually resilient, Julian," Vance said calmly. "And his daughter crawling into his casket created an unforeseen variable. Public sentiment is entirely focused on them now."
"The police are looking for Elizabeth Reed!" Julian panicked, running a hand through his hair. "Miller is already pulling the server logs from Trauma Bay 2. If they discover I authorized his transport to St. Jude’s—"
"Quiet yourself," Vance commanded, his voice dropping into a razor-sharp whisper that froze Julian in his tracks. "Dr. Reed has already been relocated across the border. Her testimony will never reach Detective Miller."
Vance stepped toward Julian, tapping a silver fountain pen against his palm.
"Your brother found the sub-basement vault," Vance continued coldly. "He knows what St. Leopold is hosting down there. If Nathan remembers what he saw before the accident, my investors lose three hundred million dollars in pharmaceutical pre-orders. Do you understand what that means for you, Julian?"
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Julian swallowed hard, his throat dry. "I... I carried out my end. I signed his release paperwork as his next-of-kin proxy when Clara was in shock!"
"Then finish the job," Vance said, sliding a small glass vial filled with a clear, odorless liquid across his desk. "Tonight. Before Detective Miller gets a court order to examine Nathan's blood work."
