CHAPTER 3: THE CARTER NAME
Emily thought the machines had stopped working.
Because suddenly she could not hear anything.
Not the beeping.
Not the nurses.
Not even her own breathing.
“My father is dead,” she whispered.
Victor looked at her with something almost like pity.
“Yes,” he said. “And he died trying to bury what he created.”
Rebecca grabbed Victor by the arm and pulled him into the room, shutting the door behind them.
“Start talking.”
Victor looked at Daniel.
“No recording.”
Daniel lifted his body camera.
“It’s already recording.”
Victor swallowed.
Then the truth came out.
Twenty years earlier, Emily’s father, Jonathan Carter, had helped build a private investment network for billionaires, politicians, defense contractors, judges, and foreign accounts.
On paper, it was a consulting firm.
In reality, it was a machine.
It laundered money.
Bought court decisions.
Destroyed whistleblowers.
Rigged contracts.
And Kane Global was only one branch.
Marcus had inherited the operation after Jonathan Carter died.
But Emily had found the real accounts by accident when reviewing documents related to her paternity lawsuit.
The baby was proof of Marcus’s relationship with her.
But the flash drive was proof of something much bigger.
A billion-dollar conspiracy.
Rebecca stood very still.
“You knew?”
Victor looked away.
“I helped draft the shell companies.”
Emily stared at him.
“Then why are you here?”
Victor’s voice dropped.
“Because Marcus is cleaning house.”
At that exact moment, the hospital lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then the emergency alarm began to pulse red across the hallway.
Daniel reached for his weapon.
Rebecca moved toward Emily’s bed.
Outside the room, nurses shouted.
Then Daniel’s radio crackled.
“All units, be advised. Armed men reported inside St. Mary’s Medical Center. Possible security breach on the fourth floor.”
Fourth floor.
Emily’s floor.
Victor stepped back, face pale.
“He found her.”
Daniel locked the door.
Rebecca pulled Emily’s bed away from the window.
Emily’s entire body trembled, but her voice was steady.
“My baby.”
Rebecca nodded.
“I’ll get him.”
But before Rebecca could reach the door, the handle moved.
Slowly.
Someone was trying to enter.
Daniel raised his weapon.
“Step away from the door!”
Silence.
Then a voice came from the hallway.
Calm.
Familiar.
Impossible.
“Emily?”
Her heart stopped.
It was Marcus.
But he was supposed to be in custody.
Daniel looked at Rebecca.
Rebecca looked at Victor.
Victor whispered:
“I told you. He owns people everywhere.”
May you like
Then Marcus spoke again from the other side of the door.
“Open it, Emily. Or I’ll start with the nursery.”
