Chapter 3 - Shadows of the Legacy
Julian froze, his hand hovering inches from the baby's blanket. His eyes darted from Sarah to me, a flicker of genuine panic crossing his face before he quickly masked it with his trademark arrogance.
"Sarah," Julian said, straightening his cuffs. "This is a private family matter. My ex-wife is suffering from postpartum delusions, and this... this incompetent doctor is feeding into them. I have legal custody rights."
"You had custody rights to a child you claimed was yours," Sarah countered, stepping forward and handing a manila folder to the security guards. "But as of ten minutes ago, we filed an emergency stay of execution on your custody petition. We submitted a preliminary forensic audit of your family's holding companies to the federal prosecutor's office. If you touch that child, you will be arrested for kidnapping before you reach the lobby."
Julian’s face drained of color. "What audit?"
I pulled myself up, leaning against the pillows. The physical pain was immense, but the fire of survival burned hotter. "The 'Vance Global Logistics' shell accounts, Julian," I said, my voice steady despite the tremor in my chest. "The ones you used to funnel money to offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands. The ones your mother used to pay a 'private medical facility' in upstate New York every month for the last thirty years."
Julian stared at me, his mouth opening slightly. He had forgotten who I was before I became his compliant, quiet wife. He had forgotten that I spent five years tearing down corrupt financial empires for a living.
"You... you stole my personal files," he whispered.
"You left your recovery laptop logged into the home network when you kicked me out," I replied coldly. "You locked me out of the bank, Julian, but you forgot that I wrote the security protocols for your firm's primary server three years ago. I didn't steal anything. I simply retrieved the public and private logs of my own household."
Dr. Joseph gently placed my baby back into my arms. The moment the tiny, warm bundle pressed against my chest, a profound wave of peace washed over me. He was so small, his little fingers curling instinctively around my thumb. But his breathing was shallow, his chest ticking with that strange, rapid double-beat.
"He needs treatment, Vivian," Dr. Joseph murmured quietly, shielding us from Julian’s view. "The double-node anomaly. Without the synthetic regulator, his heart will fail within seventy-two hours. The medicine is patented, extremely expensive, and highly controlled. Only one pharmaceutical company produces it."
"Who owns it?" I asked, my heart gripping with sudden terror.
"Vance Pharmaceuticals," Julian sneered, overhearing us. A dark, ugly smile returned to his face. "My mother owns the exclusive rights to that drug. If the brat has that mutation, he’ll die without us. You want to save him, Vivian? You drop the audit. You hand over every file you have, and you sign a non-disclosure agreement. Otherwise, the medicine stays in our vaults, and your bastard child doesn't make it to Friday."
"He is not a bastard!" I yelled, my maternal instinct flaring into a white-hot rage.
"He is if his father is a ghost," Julian hissed. "My mother has the power here. She always has."
"We'll see about that," Sarah said, pulling out her phone. "The federal marshals are currently executing a search warrant at the Vance Manor. Julian, I suggest you call your defense lawyers. You're going to need them."
Julian glared at me, a venomous look that promised retribution, before turning on his heel and storming out of the room, his expensive leather shoes clicking angrily down the hallway.
May you like
I looked down at my baby boy. "What do we do, Dr. Joseph? How do we get the medicine?"
"There is someone we have to find," Dr. Joseph said, his face grave. "Leo Vance. If he is alive, he is the rightful heir to the Vance estate, not Julian. And his blood contains the natural antibodies to synthesize the drug without Eleanor’s patents. We have seventy-two hours to find a man who has been dead to the world for three decades."
