Chapter 5 - Shadows at the Hospital
Later that afternoon, the private VIP wing of Harrison Memorial Hospital was eerily quiet.
Leo sat in a plush leather armchair in Sarah’s recovery suite, happily devouring a plate of fresh fruit and pastries brought up by the private chef. Sarah was sleeping soundly, color slowly returning to her cheeks under the gentle hum of intravenous fluids and professional medical care.
Arthur stood by the window, looking out over the sprawling Manhattan skyline, feeling a profound sense of peace he hadn't known in decades.
Suddenly, the soft chime of the private elevator echoed down the hallway.
Arthur turned slightly as the heavy oak door of the suite opened. A man in a tailored dark suit stepped inside—not a doctor, and not a board member. It was Marcus Vance, Arthur’s longtime head of corporate security.
Marcus locked the door behind him quietly, his face tight with concern.
"Mr. Harrison, we have a complication," Marcus said in a low, urgent tone, stepping away from the doorway.
Arthur’s eyes narrowed instantly. "What kind of complication, Marcus?"
"Richard didn't go home after the board meeting," Marcus reported, keeping his voice down so as not to wake Sarah. "He met with a private investigator downtown. He’s digging into Sarah’s past—specifically, the man she married fifteen years ago before she was disowned."
Arthur’s jaw tightened. "Marcus Vance... that coward. What does Edward’s past have to do with anything? Edward passed away years ago."
"True, sir. But according to preliminary public records, Edward left behind a trail of high-stakes corporate debts and federal tax liens before he vanished," Marcus said grimly. "Richard is planning to weaponize those old liabilities. If he can prove that Sarah or young Leo inherited those debts legally, he can petition the probate court to freeze the estate's transfer of power."
Arthur let out a cold, humorless laugh. "Richard thinks he can outmaneuver me using my own lawyers' loopholes? He’s forgetting who wrote those loopholes in the first place."
"What are your orders, sir?" Marcus asked.
Arthur looked back at Leo, who was smiling happily at a cartoon playing on the wall-mounted television, completely unaware of the corporate sharks circling his family.
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"Dig up every financial filing Richard has touched in the last five years," Arthur commanded quietly. "And find out who funded his private investigator. If Richard wants a war over this family's legacy, I’ll give him a front-row seat to his own destruction."
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