Chapter 4 - Shadows at the Hospital
The following morning, Hudson Children’s Medical Center looked completely different to Nora.
Instead of waiting four hours in the crowded basement clinic, she was escorted by two tall men in dark suits through a private elevator to the ninth-floor VIP surgical wing.
The room was vast, sunlit, and filled with state-of-the-art medical equipment, fresh flowers, and a large plush sofa. Ten-year-old Jamie was sitting up in the hospital bed, wearing clean pajamas, eating a bowl of fresh strawberries while watching cartoons on a large flat-screen TV.
“Nora!” Jamie cried out, his pale face lighting up with joy as she ran into the room.
Nora threw her arms around her little brother, burying her face in his neck, sobbing softly with relief. “Oh, Jamie... how are you feeling?”
“I feel great!” Jamie giggled, pointing toward a tall, white-haired physician standing near the foot of the bed. “The doctor said I get my own private play room, and they have Xbox games!”
Dr. Richard Sterling, the legendary chief of pediatric cardiology, walked forward with a warm, reassuring smile. “Miss Bennett, I’ve reviewed Jamie’s scans personally. The defect is clear, but perfectly treatable. With the new equipment and surgical suite we’ve assigned, the success rate for Wednesday’s procedure is over ninety-eight percent.”
Nora wiped her tears, looking over her shoulder. Dominic stood near the doorway, leaning casually against the frame, his hands tucked into his suit pockets, watching the reunion with a quiet, satisfied smile.
“Thank you, Doctor,” Nora whispered.
Suddenly, the red emergency light above the hallway door flickered, and the electronic lock on the VIP wing chimed softly.
Marco, Dominic’s chief of security, stepped into the room, his expression deadly serious. He leaned toward Dominic, whispering rapidly into his ear.
Dominic’s jaw tightened instantly. “Are you certain?”
“Positive, Boss,” Marco reported under his breath. “Three dark sedans just pulled into the hospital parking garage. They bypassed hospital security using forged NYPD credentials. It’s Julian Vance’s elite strike team. They know Nora is here, and they know about the deposit box.”
Nora’s blood ran cold. She turned from Jamie’s bed, her voice trembling. “Julian knows?”
“He realized Arthur’s daughter was alive the moment I pulled you out of the Velvet Room last night,” Dominic said, stepping into the center of the room, his composure absolute and terrifying. “He knows the ledgers are about to be exposed. He’s desperate.”
Dominic turned to Marco. “Lock down this floor. Move Jamie into the inner surgical vault behind the reinforced doors. No one comes up that elevator alive.”
“Dominic, no!” Nora panicked, grabbing his arm. “Jamie—!”
“Jamie is safe in the vault, Nora,” Dominic reassured her, taking her face in his broad hands, forcing her to look into his steady gray eyes. “The inner room has six-inch ballistic steel walls. They can’t reach him. But you and I are going down to meet them.”
Nora swallowed hard, nodding her head. “Okay.”
Within two minutes, Jamie was safely tucked into the secure inner vault under the care of Dr. Sterling and two armed bodyguards.
Dominic drew a sleek black suppressed firearm from his shoulder holster, checking the magazine with practiced, smooth efficiency. He offered Nora a small, silver defense taser from his coat pocket.
“Stay behind me,” Dominic ordered softly.
They stepped out into the quiet marble corridor of the surgical wing. The main double doors at the end of the hall suddenly blew inward with a loud CRACK as three masked men in tactical gear burst into the hallway, automatic weapons raised.
Dominic didn’t hesitate. He raised his weapon and fired three precise shots.
The muffled THUMP-THUMP-THUMP echoed through the hall. The first two attackers collapsed instantly to the floor, while the third scrambled behind a linen cart, firing a wild burst of gunfire that shattered the glass windows along the corridor.
Dominic grabbed Nora by the waist, pulling her behind a heavy concrete pillar. Bullets whizzed through the air, raining plaster and glass down around them.
“Covering fire!” Dominic shouted to Marco, who leaned out from a side office, opening fire with his weapon.
Dominic stepped out from behind the pillar, firing two final rounds that neutralized the last attacker. Silence fell over the ruined corridor, punctuated only by the smell of ozone and gunpowder.
Dominic walked over to the fallen men, kicking a dropped weapon away, before returning to Nora. He checked her over frantically, his hands sweeping over her shoulders and waist. “Are you hurt? Did any of the glass hit you?”
“I’m fine,” Nora gasped, her heart pounding against her ribs like a sledgehammer. She looked at the fallen mercenaries, then at Dominic, realizing the terrifying scale of the war she had been dragged into.
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Dominic looked down at her, his dark eyes burning with absolute, lethal devotion.
“He tried to hurt you in a hospital,” Dominic growled, his voice vibrating with primal rage. “Julian Vance dies tonight.”
