Chapter 5 - The TrapThe rain hit the city like relentless whip-lashes. I spent the night in the waiting room of St. Raphael’s Hospital, curling up on a plastic chair near Grandma Bee’s room, clutching my knees to my chest.
I felt dirty. I felt used. The gentle moments we had shared in the dark living room—the way his fingers had entwined with mine, the soft sigh of relief he gave when his pain vanished—it all felt tainted by the shadow of my father's sins.
At 8:00 AM, the door to Grandma Bee’s room creaked open.
I sat up instantly, expecting to see a nurse.
Instead, a man in a rumpled suit stepped into the room. He was in his late fifties, his hair gray and thin, his face lined with years of hard living, but his dark hazel eyes were unmistakably familiar.
My breath hitched in my throat.
"Maya?" the man whispered, his voice trembling.
I stood up slowly, my heart dropping into my stomach. "Julian?"
My father took a step toward me, holding out his hands. "Look at you... you're so grown up. You look just like your mother."
"Don't touch me," I growled, stepping back, my voice laced with venom. "Don't you dare step a foot closer to me or my grandmother."
"Maya, please, listen to me," Julian begged, looking frantically over his shoulder toward the hallway. "I didn't have a choice! Twelve years ago, Park Meridian Capital was going to shut down my research and steal my patents! I had to take my work!"
"You blew up a lab!" I shouted. "You destroyed a man's life! You turned Adrian Park into a ghost who can't even feel human touch!"
Julian’s face twisted into a grotesque, greedy grin. "So it's true... the reports were right. You're working for him now, aren't you? You're his cure."
Before I could process his words, the door to the room was kicked open.
Three armed men in unmarked tactical gear burst into the hospital room. Before I could scream, one of the men grabbed Julian, slamming him against the wall, while another man grabbed my arms, pinning them behind my back.
"What are you doing?!" I shrieked, struggling against the heavy grip.
A tall, elegant man in a white linen suit walked smoothly into the room, stepping over the threshold with a cruel smile. It was Victor Park—Adrian’s uncle and the Vice Chairman of Park Meridian Capital.
"Hello, my dear," Victor said smoothly, looking at me with cold, calculating eyes. "I must thank you. I've been hunting your father for twelve years to retrieve the remaining research data. I never imagined his little daughter would pop up as Adrian's secret miracle cure."
"Victor..." Julian gasped against the wall. "I brought her to you! Like we agreed! Give me my money!"
I stared at my father in complete, unimaginable horror. "You... you sold me out?"
"He didn't sell you out, Maya," Victor chuckled softly, reaching into his coat and pulling out a syringe filled with a clear liquid. "He traded you for a plane ticket to South America. You see, if Adrian gets cured, he will retain total voting control of Park Meridian Capital forever. But if Adrian suffers a sudden, fatal relapse... control of the empire falls to me."
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"You poisoned Adrian twelve years ago," I realized, the horrifying truth dawning on me. "It wasn't a lab accident. You paid my father to sabotage the lab!"
"Smart girl," Victor smiled, stepping toward me with the needle. "And now, I'm going to extract every drop of that synthesized protein from your blood before I bury you and your father in the river."
