Chapter 11 - The Grandmother's Retaliation
Mercer spun on his heel and hurried out of the ward without another word.
Two hours later, Dr. Patel signed Lily’s formal discharge paperwork. With Arthur’s private security detail flanking our perimeter, we took the freight elevator down to the basement garage to avoid the local media vans circling the main entrance.
I held Lily wrapped tightly in her pink blanket, feeling the steady, fragile rhythm of her heartbeat against my ribs. We were twenty feet from Arthur’s armored SUV when the shrill ring of a prepaid burner phone echoed from Arthur’s coat pocket.
Arthur pulled it out and pressed speakerphone.
"Arthur, you miserable bastard," Judith’s voice screeched through the speaker, distorted with manic fury.
She wasn't in a county holding cell. Her background was completely devoid of prison echo—instead, I heard the faint, distinct hum of an executive turboprop engine idling on a runway.
"Judith," Arthur said evenly. "I see Arthur Vance posted your half-million-dollar cash bail."
"You think you won because you pulled an obsolete land patent out of your grave?" Judith snarled, her breath ragged. "Ryan is a weak fool who couldn't keep his mouth shut, but my brother has three offshore accounts that your little grand jury will never touch."
"Turn yourself in, Judith," Arthur said. "The state has you on camera dosing the child."
"That child won't see a dime of my family's money!" Judith shrieked. "Check your phone, Nora! Check your precious nursery accounts!"
The call disconnected with a violent snap.
My personal cell phone buzzed violently in my diaper bag.
May you like
I pulled it out with shaking hands. It was an emergency alert from the private storage facility where I had preserved my late mother's personal effects and family heirlooms.
The security alert read: Physical Unit Breach Detected. Storage Locker 412 Compromised.
