Chapter 4 - The Price of a Life
Inside the hospital room,
the air was thick with the tension of a battle being fought in the shadows.
Beatrice had brought her own team of specialists,
men and women who brushed aside the Hartwells' paid doctors with a ruthless efficiency.
They were stabilizing Eliza,
preparing her for a transfer to a private facility,
far away from the influence of the people who had raised her.
Diane and Victor had been forced into a corner,
trapped in the VIP lounge as the hospital board scrambled to distance themselves from the looming scandal.
"You can't take her,"
Diane hissed,
having found her way back to the foot of Eliza’s bed.
"We raised her,
we clothed her,
we gave her the Hartwell name."
Beatrice didn't even look up from Eliza’s chart.
"You used her,"
Beatrice corrected,
her voice cold enough to freeze blood.
"You kept her as a medical spare for Cole,
didn't you?
I saw the blood tests you ordered every year,
disguised as routine checkups.
You were monitoring her compatibility for the day his lifestyle finally caught up with him."
Eliza felt a tear leak from the corner of her eye,
the first physical movement she had mastered since the crash.
The betrayal was deeper than she had ever imagined.
It wasn't just that they loved Cole more,
it was that they had viewed her as a walking pharmacy,
a biological safety net for their precious heir.
"She’s my daughter,"
Diane insisted,
though her voice was more a whine of possession than a cry of love.
"She’s a hostage,"
Beatrice snapped,
finally looking at Diane with a gaze that made the other woman flinch.
"And as for the Hartwell name,
it will be a slur by the time the morning editions are printed.
I am suing you for kidnapping,
for fraud,
and for the attempted medical battery of my daughter."
Victor entered the room then,
his face pale,
his expensive suit looking rumpled and cheap.
"The hospital is being served with a court order,"
he said,
his voice hollow.
"They’ve frozen our access to Cole’s records,
and they're questioning the surgeons about the instructions we gave."
Beatrice stood up,
straightening her jacket,
looking every bit the titan she was.
"The Hartwells are finished,"
she said,
the finality of the statement sounding like a closing coffin lid.
"Your assets will be seized,
your reputations will be incinerated,
and you will never,
ever speak to my daughter again."
Beatrice turned back to Eliza,
taking her hand once more.
"Hang on,
my love,"
May you like
she whispered.
"We’re going home."
