Chapter 2 - The Emergency Wing
The double doors of the Manhattan Presbyterian Emergency Wing burst open as the paramedics wheeled Sarah in.
Daniel ran alongside the gurney, his hand locked onto hers. The hospital was a blur of fluorescent lights, shouting doctors, and the frantic, rhythmic beeping of portable monitors. Sarah was semi-conscious, her breathing shallow as a team of obstetricians and trauma specialists swarmed around her.
"We need an immediate ultrasound!" the lead doctor shouted, steering the gurney into an evaluation room. "Get her stats! We need to check for placental abruption!"
"Sir, you have to stay outside," a nurse said, gently but firmly placing a hand on Daniel’s chest as they wheeled Sarah through the yellow doors of the trauma bay.
"That's my wife!" Daniel protested, his heart slamming against his ribs. "That's my son!"
"I know, sir, but we need room to work. Please. Sit down. We will keep you updated every step of the way."
The doors clicked shut, leaving Daniel standing in the sterile, white hallway. The silence of the waiting room was heavy. He sank into a plastic chair, his hands covered in the gray dust from the Morrison staircase. Slowly, he reached into his pocket and pulled out Sarah’s phone.
His thumb hovered over the recording. He didn't want to listen to it again—the sound of his wife's screams and her family's laughter was a hot iron in his brain—but he knew he had to protect it.
He immediately uploaded the audio file to three separate secure cloud drives, sent a copy to his personal email, and forwarded it to his closest friend, a prominent criminal defense attorney named Marcus Sterling.
Within two minutes, Marcus called him back.
"Daniel, what the hell is this?" Marcus’s voice was tense, devoid of its usual casual banter. "I just listened to the file you sent."
"It's them, Marcus," Daniel whispered, his voice cracking as he leaned his head against the cold hospital wall. "Jason pushed her. Arthur covered it up. They wanted her to lose the baby so she wouldn't get her mother’s inheritance trust next month. They've been planning this."
"This is attempted murder, Daniel," Marcus said. "But you have to understand who you're dealing with. Arthur Morrison practically owns the local police precinct. He’s one of the biggest donors to the district attorney’s campaign. If you just walk into a police station with this, his lawyers will find a way to suppress it before a judge even sees it."
"Then what do I do?" Daniel asked, a cold anger settling deep into his bones. "I can't let them walk free, Marcus. They tried to kill my wife. My child."
"We build an airtight case," Marcus replied. "We don't just go to the local cops. We go to the state prosecutors. I'm going to contact a federal investigator I know in the financial crimes division. We need to hit them from every angle. If we can prove they had a financial motive—like the inheritance trust—alongside the physical assault, they won't be able to buy their way out of this."
"Do it," Daniel said. "Whatever it takes."
Before he could hang up, the doors to the trauma bay opened.
The lead obstetrician walked out, pulling off her surgical mask. Her face was grave, her eyes tired. Daniel leaped to his feet, his phone slipping onto the chair.
"Doctor? How are they? Please tell me they're okay."
The doctor took a deep breath. "Your wife is a very strong woman, Daniel. The fall fractured two of her ribs and caused a mild concussion. But the baby... the baby is in distress. The impact caused a partial placental abruption. We’ve managed to stabilize her for now, but she is on strict, absolute bed rest. We cannot risk her going into early labor. If she does, at seven months, the complications could be severe."
Daniel let out a breath he felt like he’d been holding for a lifetime. "Can I see her?"
"Yes," the doctor said, her voice softening. "But keep her calm. Any spike in her blood pressure could trigger labor."
Daniel nodded, his jaw tightening. He walked into the quiet, dimly lit room where Sarah lay. Her face was pale, an IV drip running into her arm, but she turned her head as he walked in. She offered him a small, trembling smile.
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"He's still kicking," Sarah whispered, placing a weak hand over her belly. "Toby is fighting, Daniel."
Daniel knelt by the bed, kissing her forehead gently, careful not to press against her bruised face. "He's a Morrison-Ward," Daniel said softly. "He has your strength. And I'm going to make sure he inherits a world where those monsters can never reach him."
