Chapter 4 - The Final Wire
The room was silent except for the horrifyingly slow cadence of the monitor: 58 bpm... 54 bpm...
Claire collapsed onto her side on the edge of the bed. Her vision blurred, dark spots dancing at the edges of her sight. Pain flared through her abdomen like liquid fire. She knew if she sat here waiting for Ethan to grant her permission to live, her baby girl would not survive the hour.
He thinks he owns me, she thought, her breath coming in ragged, shallow gasps. He thinks because he controls the Vance fortune, he controls my life.
She reached out with a trembling, sweat-slicked hand toward the nightstand. Her fingertips grazed the edge of her smartphone. She dragged it toward her, her knuckles turning white.
Her fingers were shaking so violently she almost dropped the device twice. Facial recognition unlocked the screen. She bypassed the standard messages, skipping Ethan's ignored calls, and opened the secured hospital network portal app.
Three weeks ago, after catching Ethan whispering on the balcony late at night, Claire had taken a quiet, precautions step. Her father had been a senior corporate attorney before he passed, and he had taught her one fundamental rule: Never leave your life in the hands of someone who holds the eraser.
She tapped the emergency credentials menu. The screen glowed white in the dim room, prompting for a master security override code.
Proxy Management: Active - Ethan Vance.
Claire’s thumb hovered over the red icon on the screen. Tears poured silently down her cheeks, but her shaking stopped. The terror in her eyes faded, replaced by something cold, sharp, and lethal.
"Not anymore," Claire whispered through her bloodstained lips into the empty room. "You don't decide for us."
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She pressed the screen.
👉 What will happen when Claire's secret override command triggers across the hospital's central computer network?
