Chapter 3 - The Surgical LockdownBy the time the midnight fog rolled heavily over the city skyline, St. Jude Memorial Hospital looked less like a sanctuary of healing and more like a crime scene under siege.
I sat in the plush leather passenger seat of a black Maybach parked across the street from the emergency entrance, sipping a cup of chamomile tea while watching the glowing windows of the administrative wing on the fourth floor.
My phone rested silently on the center console. Every few minutes, it vibrated with encrypted status reports from Gerald’s legal team.
Subpoena delivered to Chief of Surgery Dr. Aris Thorne.
Internal hospital audit initiated regarding unregistered pharmaceutical financial kickbacks.
Dr. Jack Walker’s surgical privileges suspended indefinitely pending investigation.
It was poetic justice. Jack had spent ten years climbing the hospital hierarchy by stepping on everyone beneath him, taking credit for his residents' research, and cozying up to pharmaceutical reps like Jessica Vance in exchange for lavish gifts, conference sponsorships, and under-the-table kickbacks. He believed his surgical hands made him untouchable. He believed that as long as he could stitch a heart back together, the rules of ethics, law, and marriage didn't apply to him.
He was about to learn that gravity doesn't care how important you think you are when you fall off a cliff.
A sharp rap on the car window startled me out of my thoughts.
I looked up. Gerald stood outside in the misty night air, dressed in a charcoal three-piece suit, holding a leather briefcase.
I hit the button to lower the window.
“It’s done, Megan,” Gerald said, his expression completely neutral, though a faint hint of satisfaction glinted in his eyes. “The hospital board moved with astonishing speed once we presented the verified bank logs and tax identification numbers showing Jessica Vance’s shell company channeling funds directly into Jack’s personal crypto wallets. He’s currently locked in a disciplinary hearing with the ethics committee.”
“And his family?” I asked calmly.
“ stranded at Terminal C for nearly three hours before their credit cards were permanently declined for fraud investigation,” Gerald replied smoothly. “Your mother-in-law tried to pay for their rescheduled flights using her own jewelry as collateral at a terminal kiosk, but the ticketing agents refused. They’re currently staying at a rather dismal airport motel near the highway—courtesy of having every single shared asset frozen.”
A cold, thin smile touched my lips. No first-class lounge in Milan. No designer shopping sprees on Via Montenapoleone. Just damp carpets, buzzing fluorescent lights, and the harsh reality of living without my money to cushion their spoiled existence.
“And Jessica?”
“She abandoned him the moment the airport security guards detained Jack for questioning regarding the fraudulent travel documents he booked using his frozen corporate credentials,” Gerald said, opening the car door and sliding into the backseat next to me. “She’s currently on a red-eye flight back to Chicago alone, frantically deleting her social media history.”
I turned around in my seat, resting my arm along the console. “Good. Let her run. She was just a symptom of a much larger disease.”
“What are your instructions for tomorrow morning, Megan?” Gerald asked, flipping open his leather briefcase and pulling out a thick sheaf of legal documents tied with a red ribbon. “Jack’s personal attorneys have already called my office seven times trying to negotiate a temporary asset release so he can pay his legal retainer. They don't know who’s backing this injunction yet. They think it’s just a standard corporate audit.”
“Let them keep guessing,” I said, my voice dropping into a register of absolute authority. “File for a formal, expedited divorce on grounds of severe marital abandonment, adultery, and documented financial embezzlement. Ensure our custody petition for Leo and Maya is filed simultaneously, granting me sole physical and legal custody based on Jack’s unstable conduct and impending criminal indictment.”
Gerald’s eyebrows rose slightly. “Sole custody? That will trigger a massive legal war, Megan. Jack will fight tooth and nail to keep the children, if only to maintain his public image as the devoted family man.”
“Let him try,” I replied coldly, turning my gaze back toward the glittering hospital windows. “Let him stand in a courtroom and explain to a family court judge why he was boarding a private flight to Europe with his mistress while lying to his wife about an emergency surgery—all while using funds embezzled from his own medical department. He won't just lose his license; he’ll lose any right to ever look my children in the eye again.”
May you like
Gerald nodded slowly, sliding the papers back into his briefcase and snapping it shut. “It will be done by 8:00 AM. Your father would have been proud of how you handled this, Megan. You always had his killer instinct; you just preferred to keep it buried under domestic peace.”
“Peace was an experiment,” I whispered, watching the rain streak down the car window. “It failed.”
