Chapter 3 - The Dawn Invasion
"State Police! Nobody move! Stay in your rooms!"
The loud, stern voice of Captain Arthur Vance bellowed through the corridor, accompanied by the heavy, rhythmic thud of tactical boots against the linoleum floor.
Flynn’s face instantly drained of color. The arrogance that had coated his features five seconds ago dissolved into pure, unadulterated panic. He spun around toward the door, his hand instinctively reaching into his jacket pocket.
The bedroom door was thrown open so hard the handle punched a hole into the drywall.
Four armed state troopers in full tactical gear poured into the room, their long rifles raised, their red laser sights painting Flynn’s navy suit with dots of light.
"Hands where I can see them! On your knees! Now!" a trooper screamed.
Behind them stepped my brother, Arthur Vance, wearing a dark blue tactical vest over his crisp police uniform, his face red with fury, his hand resting on his holstered firearm. Behind Arthur walked Assistant District Attorney Sarah Lin, carrying a leather briefcase and an official state search warrant stamped with red ink.
"Arthur!" Flynn gasped, raising his hands into the air, his voice instantly shifting back into his pathetic, innocent register. "Arthur, thank God you’re here! Something is wrong with Mabel! She’s having a severe psychological episode! She’s hallucinating, she’s threatening me—"
Arthur didn't say a single word. He walked straight past Flynn, grabbed him by the back of his silk tie, and slammed his face hard against the wooden bedroom door.
"Shut up, Flynn," Arthur growled into his ear, pulling his hands behind his back and snapping cold, heavy steel handcuffs over his wrists with two sharp clicks.
"What are you doing?!" Flynn shrieked, struggling against the cuffs. "I am her husband! I am a prominent citizen! You can't touch me! On what grounds are you arresting me?!"
ADA Sarah Lin stepped forward, unzipping her briefcase, and pulled out an iPad connected to a portable speaker. She pressed play.
Flynn’s own voice echoed through the hospital room, loud, clear, and unmistakable:
"Make it look like an acute post-partum infection... Sepsis moves fast in high-risk deliveries... Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in non-sequential bearer bonds... Selina is already five months pregnant... I want this settled."
Flynn’s body went completely limp in Arthur’s grip. His knees buckled, and if Arthur hadn't been holding him up by his collar, he would have collapsed onto the floor. He stared at the iPad as if it were a venomous snake, his chest heaving, his eyes wide with horror.
"That... that's an illegal recording!" Flynn stuttered, his voice rising into a sharp, hysterical squeak. "That’s wiretapping! It’s inadmissible in court! My lawyer will have that thrown out in five minutes!"
"This room was leased under Vance Commercial Properties corporate credit, Flynn," ADA Lin said coldly, holding up a copy of the hospital lease agreement. "Mabel is the owner of the property. Furthermore, under state law, an individual may record a conversation without consent if they have reasonable belief that a violent felony is about to be committed against their person. You’re done, Mr. Sterling."
"Where is Dr. Vance?" I asked, stepping out from behind the bed, looking at my brother.
"Troopers swept the chief of obstetrics' office two minutes ago," Arthur said, tossing a heavy plastic evidence bag onto the bed. Inside the bag sat the thick off-white envelope containing the two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in bearer bonds, along with three vials of clear liquid labeled Staphylococcus Aureus Culture - High Concentration. "Dr. Vance tried to run out the back emergency exit. We caught him in the parking garage with his bags already packed."
Flynn looked at the vials of bacteria on the bed, then looked up at me. His face was no longer that of a husband or a lover; it was the face of a cornered predator whose trap had snapped shut on his own neck.
"Mabel... please," he whimpered, dropping to his knees on the carpet, looking up at me with tears springing into his eyes. "I was crazy... Selina was blackmailing me! She threatened to tell the press about the pregnancy! I didn't want to hurt you, I swear! It was all Vance’s idea!"
I walked over to where he knelt, stopping inches away from his cuffed hands. I looked down at him with a coldness that shocked even my brother.
"You bought a navy suit for my funeral, Flynn," I whispered. "Now you can wear it to your trial."
"Get him out of my sight," Arthur commanded.
Two troopers grabbed Flynn under the arms, dragging him out of the room as he began to scream, his frantic pleas echoing down the hallway until the heavy elevator doors slid shut.
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Arthur walked over to me, his stern face immediately breaking into a look of deep, overwhelming relief. He pulled me into a tight, careful hug, mindful of my belly. "You’re safe now, Mabel. The floor is locked down. Our private doctors are on their way up."
"I know, Arthur," I whispered, resting my head against his chest. "Now... get me a real doctor. My water just broke."
