Chapter 5 - The Betrayal
Ethan wheeled himself silently down the darkened hallway, stopping just short of the study’s cracked double doors.
Inside, Vanessa was pouring two glasses of scotch. Daniel Mercer sat on the leather sofa, looking deeply uncomfortable.
“It’s a simple signature, Daniel,” Vanessa purred, handing him a glass. “You sign the affidavit stating his traumatic brain injury and spinal shock render him incompetent. I take over the trust. You get the Chief of Medicine spot at Chicago General. It’s fully funded.”
Ethan held his breath. Daniel was his oldest friend. Daniel was the one who suggested this test in the first place.
“Vanessa, Ethan is my friend,” Daniel said, his voice strained.
“Ethan is a cripple who is going to drag this company into the ground,” Vanessa snapped. “Do you want to be a loyal friend to a sinking ship, or do you want to run your own hospital?”
Silence hung in the room.
Then, Ethan heard the unmistakable sound of a pen scratching across heavy paper.
Daniel had signed it.
Ethan backed his chair away, feeling the floor drop out from under him. He was completely trapped. He had faked his paralysis, but if Daniel testified he was mentally incapacitated, standing up now would only look like a manic episode. They would lock him in a psych ward and take his empire.
He needed proof of the conspiracy.
The next morning, Ethan sat by the window in his room. Clara came in with his breakfast tray. She was strictly professional, her face guarded.
“Clara,” Ethan said, his voice dropping to a whisper. “I need you to do something for me. Something dangerous.”
She paused, holding a coffee cup. “I’m a nurse, Mr. Hale. Not a spy.”
“Vanessa and Dr. Mercer are trying to steal my company. They’ve signed fraudulent medical documents declaring me unfit. I need Daniel’s briefcase. It’s in his guest room.”
Clara stared at him. “Why should I trust you? You lied to me about your shoes.”
“Because of Toby,” Ethan pleaded. “Because you know what it’s like to have everything taken from you.”
Clara hesitated. Then, she set the tray down and walked out.
Ten minutes later, she returned. She didn't have the briefcase.
Instead, she held a single manila folder. Her hands were shaking violently.
May you like
She threw it onto Ethan’s lap.
“I didn't find the affidavit, Ethan,” Clara said, her voice cracking with a devastation that cut deeper than any knife. “I found your original MRI scans.”
