Chapter 4 - A Brother's Wrath
The intensive care unit of the hospital smelled of bleach and ozone.
Harrison stood outside the operating room doors, his bloody white shirt still clinging to his chest. He refused the nurses' offers of a clean scrub top. He refused to sit down. He stood like a sentinel, his gaze fixed on the double doors.
A junior associate from his firm, a young lawyer named Marcus, ran down the hallway, holding a stack of legal folders and a tablet. He stopped a few feet away from Harrison, visibly intimidated by the sheer aura of violence radiating from his boss.
"Mr. Cole," Marcus whispered. "The police have detained Vanessa Kensington at the precinct. They are currently treating it as an aggravated assault, but—"
"No," Harrison interrupted, his voice dangerously low. "It is not aggravated assault."
He turned his head slowly to look at Marcus.
"It is attempted murder. And attempted fetal homicide. I want the District Attorney on the phone. Tell him if he does not file maximum charges by sunset, I will personally fund his opponent's campaign, leak his private financial records to the press, and dismantle his career before the week is over."
"Y-yes, sir," Marcus stammered, frantically writing on his tablet.
"And Richard?"
"He’s currently at his corporate headquarters, trying to meet with his board of directors to release a public relations statement. They’re trying to spin it as a tragic accident."
Harrison let out a sound that was half-laugh, half-growl. It was a terrifying sound.
"Tell our financial team to trigger the default clauses on all of Harrington Commercial's secondary loans. I want every bank holding their debt to call in their notes immediately. Freeze their operational assets. File an emergency motion to appoint a receiver over the company due to corporate fraud."
"But sir... that will bankrupt the company within forty-eight hours."
"That," Harrison said, "is the point."
The operating room doors swung open, and a surgeon in blood-stained scrubs walked out. Harrison immediately stepped forward, his composure fracturing for a brief second.
"How are they?"
The surgeon took a deep breath, pulling down his mask. "Your sister had severe internal bleeding and a placental abruption. We had to perform an emergency cesarean section. It was incredibly difficult, but..."
The surgeon offered a small, exhausted smile.
"Your niece is alive. She’s extremely premature—under three pounds—and she’s currently in the NICU on a ventilator. She’s a fighter, Mr. Cole. As for your sister... we managed to stop the bleeding, but she is currently in a medically induced coma. The next seventy-two hours are critical."
Harrison closed his eyes for a single moment, a silent prayer escaping his lips.
May you like
When he opened them, the last vestige of his humanity had been locked away.
"Thank you, Doctor," Harrison said quietly. He turned back to Marcus. "Call the Sheriff's department. It’s time to pay Richard a visit."
