Chapter 4 - Bloodline in the Shadows
The corridor fell into an absolute, terrifying silence.
The police officer looked at the state documents, then at the faded yellow bracelet in Sebastian’s hand, his mouth open in utter shock.
"Richard Vance," Sebastian murmured, his eyes turning into two pools of black ice. "He couldn't conceive an heir with his wife. He used the fire he caused in the basement to stage my daughter's death, altered the hospital birth registry, and raised my Valentina as his own personal asset."
"Mr. Moretti..." I stepped forward, my mind racing as my medical background kicked in. "If Hannah Vance—if Valentina—was brought into our ER yesterday morning at thirty-two weeks gestation, she was suffering from acute preeclampsia. I read her intake notes before she was forced out."
Sebastian turned to me instantly. "Tell me everything, Clara."
"She had an emergency C-section performed in bay four," I explained, my voice shaking as the dark truth synthesized in my head. "Her blood pressure was off the charts. She was suffering from early-stage uterine tearing and high fever. If her father—if Richard Vance—forced her to sign those release papers and dragged her out of this hospital less than six hours after major surgery, she is bleeding internally right now."
Sebastian didn't waste another second on the state agents. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a thick satellite phone, and pressed a single speed-dial button.
"Marco," Sebastian said, his voice dropping into a register that made the CPS agents back away toward the elevators. "Mobilize the entire eastern division. Lock down every private airfield, train station, and highway exit within fifty miles of the county line."
"Boss?" Marco’s voice boomed over the speakerphone. "What's the target?"
"Richard Vance," Sebastian replied, his tone dripping with absolute fatality. "He has my daughter. And he is currently letting her bleed to death in order to hide what he did seventeen years ago."
Sebastian hung up the phone and turned to face me.
"Nurse Clara," he said, stepping toward me. "You held my grandson when no one else would. You know my daughter's exact medical condition. I need you with me."
"I can't leave the unit without authorization—"
"I just bought this hospital fifteen seconds ago," Sebastian cut me off flatly. "Your shift is reassigned. Pack an emergency trauma kit, broad-spectrum antibiotics, and blood coagulation units. We are going to get my daughter."
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I looked down at the tiny four-pound baby resting safely in the NICU incubator behind the glass. I looked at the man who had spent twelve hours shielding that child with his own body.
"Give me three minutes to grab the surgical bag," I said.
