Chapter 4 - The Venomous Visit
At 8:00 PM, the heavy footsteps returned to the corridor.
"Get into position, Elena," I whispered, disconnecting my satellite phone and hiding it back inside the wardrobe before quickly getting back into the hospital bed.
I pulled the thin white blanket up to my chest, relaxed my body, and let my eyelids drop shut. Elena quickly grabbed her cleaning cloth and resumed wiping down the bedside counter.
The lock on the door turned, and the door swung open.
Chloe stepped into the room.
She was dressed in a stunning black velvet designer dress, her blonde hair styled impeccably, wearing the four-carat diamond engagement ring I had bought her three months ago. She carried a small leather handbag and smelled of expensive jasmine perfume—a scent that now made my stomach turn with pure disgust.
Behind her stood Richard Vance, my thirty-two-year-old cousin. Richard was wearing an expensive Italian suit, holding a leather briefcase, his face wearing a practiced expression of solemn, tragic grief.
"Leave us, maid," Richard commanded coldly, gesturing toward the door without even looking at Elena.
Elena bowed her head, clutching her cleaning bucket tightly. "Yes, sir. Excuse me, sir."
She shot me a brief, subtle glance before stepping out into the hallway, leaving the door unlocked behind her as I had instructed.
Richard locked the door behind Elena and drew the heavy privacy curtains across the glass window facing the hallway.
"Is the hallway secure?" Chloe asked, her voice devoid of any warmth or sorrow, turning to face Richard.
"Marcus has four men on this floor," Richard replied, setting his briefcase on the sofa. "No one enters or leaves without my approval. How is our patient looking?"
Chloe walked slowly toward my bed, stopping right beside my pillow. She reached out a gloved hand and gently touched my cheek. Her fingers were cold, like porcelain.
"He's deteriorating," Chloe said, a faint, sinister smile playing on her red lips. "The doctor said his oxygen saturation levels dropped twice this afternoon. He won't survive another twenty-four hours."
Richard walked over, looking down at me with cold, envious eyes. "It's almost poetic, isn't it? Julian spent his whole life playing the brilliant, untouchable billionaire. And now he's just a vegetable rotting in a expensive silk bed."
Richard reached down and grabbed my hand, squeezing my fingers with unnecessary force, testing if there was any subconscious reaction. I kept my hand completely limp, letting my fingers hang lifelessly in his grip.
"He's completely gone, Chloe," Richard sneered, dropping my hand carelessly onto the mattress. "The court hearing is set for 9:00 AM tomorrow. Once the judge signs the emergency conservatorship order, we initiate the transfer of the Swiss accounts."
"What about the doctor?" Chloe asked, leaning over me, her breath hot against my ear. "Are we sure Dr. Harrison will sign the lethal sedation order tonight?"
"Harrison is heavily in debt to my gambling syndicate in Atlantic City," Richard chuckled softly. "He'll inject fifty milligrams of potassium chloride into his IV line at 2:00 AM. By sunrise, the coroner will rule it an unfortunate cardiac arrest brought on by severe trauma from the crash."
My heart hammered against my ribs, but I forced my facial features to remain dead still.
2:00 AM.
That was their deadline. In six hours, they intended to murder me in this bed.
"It's a pity, really," Chloe whispered, tracing her manicured fingernail down the center of my neck, resting it directly over my jugular vein. "I really did enjoy his money. But he was always so controlling, so obsessive about his company's integrity."
"He was an arrogant bastard who thought he was better than the rest of the family," Richard spat. "Let's go. We have a dinner with the board members at the Pierre Hotel in thirty minutes. We need to make sure everyone is aligned before tomorrow's vote."
Chloe leaned down one last time, pressing her soft lips against my forehead—the same forehead she had kissed five hours ago when she told me to die before Friday.
"Goodnight, Julian," she whispered softly. "Sweet dreams."
They turned, unlocked the door, and walked out into the corridor, their quiet laughter echoing through the doorway before the heavy oak door clicked shut.
I opened my eyes. The dark room seemed to vibrate with a cold, ruthless clarity.
May you like
They had laid their trap.
Now, I was going to turn it into their execution chamber.
