Chapter 4 - The Showdown in the Master Suite
Marcus instantly stepped in front of me and Adrian's bed, shielding us. "Julian, you have no authorization to be on these grounds until the conservatorship hearing."
"Authorization?" Julian laughed, a cold, hollow sound that made my skin crawl. "Marcus, old man, you seem to forget whose name is on the front gate. My mother signed my access permit an hour ago. And as for you, nurse..."
Julian took three deliberate steps into the room, his eyes dark with murderous contempt as he stared at me.
"Clara Vance," Julian said smoothly. "The daughter of the disgraced thief. I must admit, hiring you through a third-party temp agency was a brilliant little coincidence. My mother thought it was poetic. The daughter of Elijah Vance wiping my father's chin while he rots."
"You poisoned him," I spat, holding my ground, keeping one hand firmly over Adrian’s cold fingers. "You and your mother have been feeding him neurotoxins for six months."
Julian didn't flinch. He didn't even deny it. He simply took another sip of his scotch.
"Can you prove it?" Julian asked softly. "My father is seventy-two years old. He has a documented history of severe hypertension. The medical reports signed by Dr. Harrison—who, by the way, just received a very generous research grant from my mother's foundation—state unequivocally that his condition is degenerative and natural."
He gestured to his two guards.
"Take Arthur to the basement," Julian ordered smoothly. "And escort Nurse Vance off the property. Her shift is over."
"She isn't leaving," Marcus said firmly, pulling a document from his coat. "Under the terms of the 1995 covenant, Clara Vance is the legal medical proxy designated by Elijah Vance's estate in the event of Adrian's incapacity. You touch her, Julian, and I file an emergency injunction for corporate murder before midnight."
Julian’s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. He set his glass down on a side table with a sharp clink.
"You think a paper signed thirty years ago protects her?" Julian whispered. "My men are at her house right now, Marcus. Her mother, her little girls, her precious son Leo... they're currently receiving a very polite visit from our private security team."
My blood ran completely cold. "If you touch my children—"
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B-E-E-P! B-E-E-P! B-E-E-P!
Suddenly, the heart monitor beside Adrian's bed let out a long, continuous flatline tone.
