Chapter 8 - A Sudden Collapse And The Betrayal That Cut Deeper Than A Scalpel
The sound of shattering glass echoed through the grand ballroom, instantly silencing the keynote speaker. The surrounding crowd gasped, stepping back in shock.
The waiter didn't hesitate. The moment the tray hit the floor, he shoved a guest aside and sprinted toward the rear kitchen exit.
“Marcus! Kitchen doors! Stop him!” Lucas roared, lunging forward.
“Lucas, no! Your ribs!” I screamed, grabbing his arm to hold him back.
The sudden violent exertion tore through Lucas’s healing chest wall. He gasped, his face draining of all color as a sharp, agonizing spasm seized his diaphragm. He stumbled, collapsing heavily onto one knee.
The ballroom descended into utter pandemonium. Cameras began flashing wildly, security shouts echoed across the vaulted ceiling, and guests started screaming.
“Call an ambulance! Mr. Bennett is down!”
“Is he having a heart attack?”
“Get back! Give him air!” I shouted, dropping to the floor beside Lucas. I ripped open his tuxedo jacket, pressing my fingers to his neck while shouting with the full authority of a trauma nurse. “He is not in cardiac arrest! He has a musculoskeletal chest strain! Back away immediately!”
Julian suddenly emerged from the crowd, followed by two city police officers and hotel security. But Julian wasn't looking at Lucas with concern—a triumphant, venomous smile was plastered across his face.
“Officers, there she is!” Julian yelled, pointing a dramatic finger straight at me. “That woman! Bailey Vance! Arrest her immediately!”
I froze, looking up in shock. “What?”
“She poisoned my brother!” Julian proclaimed to the horrified ballroom crowd, his voice projecting with theatrical outrage. “She’s an impostor! A disgraced former nursing student who infiltrated Meridian Tower under the guise of a cleaner. Security just searched her locker in the basement and found ampoules of synthetic cardiac toxins and unlisted prescription stimulants!”
“You’re lying!” I cried, standing up defensively. “He’s framing me!”
“Officers, take her into custody before she finishes the job!” Evelyn Bennett screamed from behind Julian, holding up a fabricated police incident report. “She was trying to inject him right now on the ballroom floor! Look at her clutch—she has medical paraphernalia in her purse!”
Two uniformed officers stepped forward, grabbing my arms and twisting them behind my back.
“You have the right to remain silent,” the officer barked, snapping cold steel handcuffs around my wrists.
“Lucas!” I cried out, struggling against the officer’s grip. “Lucas, don't let them do this!”
Lucas was fighting to stand, his eyes blazing with murderous fury as he gripped the edge of a banquet table. “Let her go!” Lucas bellowed, coughing violently as blood speckled his lips from the strain on his pleura. “Julian, you bastard... release her! She saved my life!”
“He’s delirious! The poison is affecting his brain!” Julian shouted to the crowd. “Get my brother into a private medical transport! And get this criminal out of my sight!”
The officers dragged me backward through the flashing cameras, past the horrified elite of Chicago, and out into the freezing night toward the back of a waiting police cruiser.
May you like
As the heavy metal door slammed shut, locking me in darkness, my heart broke.
I had saved a billionaire’s life, only to be thrown into the jaws of a corrupt dynasty that was ready to bury me alive to protect their stolen throne.
Related Stories
