Chapter 12: The Grid Snaps Shut
"She seems a bit tense today, Elena," Julian murmured, his thumb grinding slightly into the hidden bruise beneath the paper gown, a silent, sadistic demonstration of his total ownership over her body. "Did we perform the structural positioning analysis I requested?"
"We were just about to start that, Dr. Reed," Elena replied quickly, her voice nervous. "Your mother-in-law requested a baseline heartbeat scan first—"
"Take your hand off my daughter, Julian," I said.
The words weren't delivered with an outcry or a sob. They were a flat, bone-chilling line of absolute finality that cut through the rhythmic thumping of the ultrasound monitor like a razor blade.
Elena stopped what she was doing, her hand freezing on the transducer probe. She looked between Julian and me, her eyes darting back and forth in sudden, professional panic as she realized she had just stepped into a domestic minefield.
Julian laughed softly—a low, condescending chuckle that he typically reserved for difficult staff members or insubordinate residents during board reviews. He slowly removed his hand from Claire’s shoulder and turned to face me, drawing himself up to his full height, using his physical stature to try and crowd me out of the room.
"Evelyn, you're being dramatic as usual," Julian muttered, his voice dropping into a low, menacing whisper intended only for our ears. "This is a private medical facility, and I am the chief of staff here. If you cause a scene or a disturbance in my wing, I will have security escort you from the premises for interfering with a critical prenatal procedure. Do not forget who runs this hospital."
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"You aren't the chief of staff anymore, Julian," I delivered the final verdict.
I raised the smartphone, turning the screen toward his face.
