Chapter 2 - THE HOSPITAL STANDOFF
The heavy oak doors of the maternity ward swung open, and the chaos outside finally reached me. My father, Marcus Ashford, stood like a fortress at the foot of my bed. Down in the lobby, Daniel was screaming at the security guards. Through the private security radio my father’s head of detail held, I could hear Daniel’s voice, shrill and panicked, demanding to see his wife. He had abandoned his luxury dinner when the black card declined, taking an Uber X back to the hospital. But the floor was sealed. Martin Hale, my attorney, stepped into the hallway and handed the security chief a stack of restraining orders and emergency asset freezes. The Whitaker family was officially locked out of my life, my child’s life, and the bank accounts that had been secretly keeping them afloat.
