Chapter 6 - Paige Comes Looking for Blood
An hour later,
the glass doors of the private hospital lobby chimed,
and heavy footsteps echoed across the marble floor.
I looked up from my laptop,
where I was reviewing Gwen's preliminary medical schedule.
It was Paige.
She stormed into the VIP wing,
her face flushed with furious crimson,
her designer handbag swinging violently from her shoulder.
Security guards moved to intercept her instantly,
recognizing the VIP protocol,
but I raised a hand to wave them off.
Let her come.
Paige marched right up to my chair,
her eyes wild with righteous indignation.
"Have you completely lost your mind?!"
she hissed,
drawing stares from the passing medical staff.
"Freezing our accounts?
Are you completely insane,
Vance?
Do you have any idea how embarrassing it was at the dealership when my card got declined for the truck payment?!"
I didn't stand up.
I simply closed my laptop,
folded my hands on the table,
and looked up at my sister with dead, unblinking eyes.
"You look nice,
Paige,"
I said quietly.
"Is that necklace real gold?
The one I paid for while my wife slept in a damp concrete box?"
Paige flinched,
her frantic expression stuttering for a fraction of a second before she doubled down on her anger.
"That wretched woman brought it on herself!
She didn't deserve a penny of your deployment money!
We worked hard to manage your estate while you were gone!"
"Manage it,"
I repeated,
letting out a low, humorless chuckle.
"Is that what you call forging signatures and diverting ninety-eight thousand dollars into private personal equity while letting a stage-two cancer patient beg for three hundred dollars?"
"She's a liar!"
Paige shrieked,
stamping her foot.
"She’s just trying to turn you against us!
We are your family!
That woman is a nobody!"
"That woman is my wife,"
I said,
my voice dropping into a dangerous, icy register that made Paige physically step back.
"And every single dollar you stole,
every single luxury you flaunted,
and every single lie you told is going to be accounted for in a court of law."
"You wouldn't dare,"
Paige sneered,
though her lower lip trembled slightly.
"Try me,"
I whispered,
opening my laptop again and ignoring her completely.
"Security?
Escort this trespasser off the premises immediately.
She lacks the clearance to be in this wing."
Before Paige could scream another word,
two towering security guards grabbed her firmly by the arms and began dragging her backward toward the exit.
"You'll regret this,
Vance!"
she hollered,
thrashing against their grip.
"Mom will never forgive you for this!
You're choosing a dying stranger over your own flesh and blood!"
The glass doors swung shut behind her,
cutting off her frantic tirade.
I let out a slow, steady breath,
May you like
adjusting my collar.
The first wave of collateral damage had been successfully delivered.
