Chapter 5 - The Hospital Vigil
For forty-eight hours, Jonathan refused to leave the waiting room of the Chicago General Hospital.
He sat in an uncomfortable plastic chair, his black suit wrinkled, watching over little Sophia while she colored quietly with crayons a nurse had provided.
On the morning of the third day, the lead doctor walked out of the ICU, looking exhausted but offering a small, relieved smile. "Her core temperature has stabilized. The pneumonia is severe, but she’s young and fighting hard. She’s going to survive."
Jonathan closed his eyes, exhaling a massive, trembling breath of profound relief. He had narrowly avoided having a mother's death on his conscience.
He pulled out his phone and dialed his Vice President, Richard.
"Jonathan! Finally!" Richard answered, his voice dripping with arrogant, corporate annoyance. "Where have you been? We have three more property blocks to clear by Friday, and the PR team is demanding a statement about that stupid newspaper article."
Jonathan stood up from the plastic chair, his voice dropping into a lethal, terrifyingly quiet register.
"I want you in the primary boardroom in exactly thirty minutes, Richard," Jonathan commanded. "Bring the entire executive board."
"Thirty minutes? Jonathan, I'm at the country club—"
"Thirty minutes," Jonathan repeated, his tone absolute. "Or I will have the corporate security team drag you there in handcuffs."
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He hung up the phone, looking down at Sophia, who was holding her stuffed bunny. "I have to go to work for a little bit, sweetheart," Jonathan said softly. "But I'll be back to see your mommy. I promise."
👉 Read Part 6 to see the brutal corporate execution in the boardroom.
