Chapter 4 - The Silent Monitor
"Clear!" Dr. Harrison’s voice rang out through the intercom system connected to the observation hall.
The dull THUMP of the defibrillator paddles echoed against the glass. Eleanor's body jolted on the operating table, her heart rate monitor glitching before returning to a weak, sputtering beat. Beep....... beep....... beep.
"We have a rhythm!" a nurse shouted. "Scalpel! Fast! Get the infant out now!"
Julianna’s eyes narrowed as she watched Dr. Harrison make the swift, deep incision. Her heart pounded against her ribs. She didn't want the baby alive. A living child, even without Eleanor, created complicated legal guardianships that could take years to untangle in probate court. She needed a tragedy—a clean, absolute tragedy that left her as the sole surviving heiress of the Vance line.
"Marcus," Julianna said, her tone laced with urgent concern. "If that child survives, Eleanor will use it as leverage against you. She will claim post-partum psychosis, she will file for divorce, she will drag the Vance name through the tabloids. You have to let me handle the media strategy tonight. We need to release a statement to the board declaring Eleanor unfit immediately."
Marcus didn't answer right away. He reached into his pocket and retrieved his gold-cased pocket watch, popping open the lid to check the time. It was precisely 1:14 AM.
"The board meeting is scheduled for 9:00 AM," Marcus said softly. "If Eleanor is incapacitated, you will sit in her chair as the interim trustee."
"Yes," Julianna agreed eagerly, her eyes shining. "Exactly. I can vote to approve the merger with the Swiss consortium. We can liquidate her father's assets by noon."
Suddenly, the mechanical doors of the surgical suite slid open. Dr. Harrison stepped out into the hallway, pulling off his blood-stained surgical mask. His face was gray with exhaustion and grief. He looked at Marcus, then at Julianna, shaking his head slowly.
"We delivered a baby girl," Dr. Harrison said, his voice heavy. "She’s three pounds, eight ounces. But... she suffered severe hypoxia during the placental detachment."
"Is she breathing?!" Marcus demanded, stepping forward.
"She’s on a ventilator in the neonatal incubator," Harrison replied. "Her brain activity is extremely low, Marcus. I cannot promise she will survive the night. And Eleanor... Eleanor has slipped into a deep coma due to acute blood loss and cranial shock from her fall onto the marble."
Julianna brought her hand up to her mouth, letting out a soft, theatrical gasp of sadness. "Oh, poor Eleanor... and the poor sweet baby..."
Behind her hand, Julianna’s lips twitched into a suppressed smile. A comatose mother and a brain-damaged infant on life support was even better than a double death. It left both victims entirely helpless, unable to speak, unable to testify, and completely at the mercy of the court-appointed guardian—which Julianna would easily secure with Marcus's backing.
"Can I see my daughter?" Marcus asked, his voice giving away nothing of his internal state.
"She’s being transferred to the intensive care nursery down the hall," Harrison said. "Marcus... I must ask. The physical trauma Eleanor suffered was extreme. Was this really an accident?"
Julianna stepped forward before Marcus could answer. "It was a tragic domestic dispute, Doctor. Eleanor had an episode. Marcus and I did everything we could to restrain her."
Dr. Harrison looked at Julianna with a long, cold stare. As the personal physician to the Vance family for twenty years, he knew the venom that ran through Julianna's veins. But without proof, he was merely an employee of the estate. He bowed his head silently and walked away down the corridor.
Marcus turned to Julianna. "Go to the study. Prepare the draft for the board of directors. I will join you in twenty minutes."
"Of course, darling," Julianna whispered, leaning in to kiss his cheek. Her lips felt icy cold against his skin. "Everything we fought for is finally ours."
She turned and walked gracefully down the hall, her heels clicking softly against the stone floor. Marcus watched her until she vanished around the corner. Once she was gone, Marcus reached into his inner pocket, pulled out his phone, and opened a black, unlabelled security application.
May you like
He tapped the screen. A live video feed popped up. It showed the high-definition, thirty-frames-per-second footage recorded by the blinking red camera in the dining hall—showing Julianna’s hands slamming into Eleanor’s back, the explosion of the glass table, and Julianna’s cold smile before she began her fake crying routine.
Marcus stared at the glowing screen, his thumb hovering over the 'Delete' button.
