Chapter 5 - The Shadow Ward
Saint Jude’s Memorial Hospital stood against the gray autumn sky like a fortress of dark brick and glass.
Matteo’s armored SUV pulled into the rear service bay, bypassing the main entrance. Three armed security men stepped out first, securing the concrete loading dock before Matteo and Liana exited the vehicle.
"Dr. Vance’s private office is on the fourth floor of the west wing," Liana whispered, wrapping her coat tightly around herself. "That wing is restricted. Only staff with red keycards can get past the elevator."
"I don't need a keycard," Matteo said coldly.
They moved quickly through the service corridors, taking the freight elevator up to the fourth floor. The air smelled heavily of floor wax, bleach, and rubbing alcohol.
When they reached the doors of Dr. Vance’s private suite, Matteo didn't knock. He kicked the lock mechanism with a heavy tactical boot, forcing the double doors open with a loud wooden crack.
Inside, filing cabinets were open, paper was scattered across the floor, and a large shredder was humming in the corner.
Dr. Harrison Vance—a tall man in his fifties with thinning hair and expensive wire-rimmed glasses—was frantically stuffing hard drives into a leather satchel.
He spun around, dropping the bag when he saw Matteo Varric standing in the doorway with a gun raised.
"M-Matteo!" Vance stammered, his face draining of every drop of blood. "What... what are you doing here?"
Matteo walked into the room slowly, his dress shoes clicking against the linoleum. "Where is Julian, Harrison?"
Vance backed up against his desk, his hands shaking wildly. "I don't know what you're talking about! I was just packing up my office for a transfer—"
Matteo raised the pistol, aiming it directly between the doctor's eyes. "My private physician was just blown up in his laboratory. Liana’s baby is upstairs in my house. My biological son is in Switzerland. Do you want to die in this office, or do you want to talk?"
Vance collapsed into his desk chair, bursting into frantic, terrified tears. "It wasn't my idea! I swear to God, Matteo, Julian forced me!"
Liana stepped forward, her eyes blazing with fury. "You told me my baby died! You let me bury a tiny, empty coffin!"
"Julian discovered that Clara’s baby had a rare blood disorder that required expensive, ongoing gene therapy!" Vance confessed, blobering hysterically. "Julian didn't want you to know the baby was sick because he was using Clara’s trust fund money for his own gambling debts! If you found out the heir was sick, you would have taken full control of the estate! So when the storm hit, Julian made me swap Clara’s baby with a healthy newborn from the charity ward!"
"My baby," Liana whispered, her voice laced with lethal disgust.
"And what about my son?" Matteo demanded, stepping close and grabbing Vance by the lapels of his coat. "Is he alive in Switzerland?!"
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"Yes!" Vance cried out. "He’s at the Saint Augustine Clinic in Geneva! Julian is keeping him alive there to keep drawing millions from the Varric family trust every single month!"
Suddenly, the heavy glass window behind Vance exploded into a thousand glittering shards.
