Chapter 11 - Margaret’s Choice
Caleb moved between Margaret and the examination table.
She held the pistol with both hands, but the barrel pointed toward the floor.
Her breathing was uneven.
“Put that away,” Caleb said.
Margaret’s eyes moved to Samuel’s bloodied shirt.
“Are they coming?”
“Who?”
“Rebecca’s people.”
Naomi turned on the flashlight of her phone.
The beam illuminated Margaret’s face.
She looked older than she had that morning.
Not polished.
Not controlled.
Terrified.
“You brought a gun into a clinic,” Caleb said.
“I followed the men who shot Samuel.”
“You followed them?”
“They doubled back after the highway exit. I saw them near the rear entrance.”
Samuel struggled to sit higher.
“How did you know where we were?”
Margaret glanced at him.
“Your car has a foundation tracker.”
Samuel gave a weak, bitter laugh.
“Of course it does.”
Caleb watched his mother.
“Give me the gun.”
“No.”
“Are you protecting us or trying to stop us?”
Her eyes flashed.
“I have spent thirty-two years protecting you.”
“You burned a hospital.”
“I did not start the fire.”
“You entered Room 814 with Rebecca.”
Margaret’s gaze shifted to the laptop.
“You found the video.”
“Tell me what happened.”
She lowered the weapon slightly.
“Rebecca said someone had accessed your original record. She said the samples could be used to claim you were military property.”
“That’s insane.”
“I believed her.”
“You paid Victor to remove the camera.”
“I paid him to remove evidence that I had entered the room.”
“And the false report against Lena?”
Margaret looked away.
“Rebecca said Lena had copied the access logs.”
“So you destroyed her reputation.”
“I needed her to stop investigating.”
“You knew she was carrying my children.”
“I thought if you left, she would negotiate.”
“Negotiate what?”
“Silence.”
Caleb’s face tightened.
“You thought she would trade the truth for money.”
“Everyone has a price.”
“Lena didn’t.”
Margaret’s mouth trembled.
“No. She didn’t.”
A sound came from the hallway.
Naomi switched off her flashlight.
Everyone went still.
Footsteps approached.
Margaret raised the pistol.
A man appeared in the doorway.
He wore a maintenance jacket and carried a suppressed handgun.
Margaret fired first.
The bullet struck the wall beside him.
He ducked and returned fire.
Caleb pulled Margaret behind the counter. Naomi overturned a metal cart, and Samuel slid from the examination table onto the floor.
The attacker advanced.
Margaret fired again.
This time the bullet struck his shoulder.
He staggered.
Caleb seized a fire extinguisher and swung it into the man’s wrist. The weapon dropped. Naomi kicked it beneath a cabinet.
Caleb drove the extinguisher into the attacker’s chest and forced him against the wall.
“Who sent you?”
The man smiled through clenched teeth.
“You’re already too late.”
“For what?”
“The children.”
Caleb froze.
Margaret crossed the room and pressed the pistol against the man’s leg.
“Where are they?”
The attacker looked at her.
“Rebecca wants what belongs to the program.”
Margaret’s finger tightened on the trigger.
Caleb grabbed the gun and forced it upward.
“No.”
The attacker laughed.
“Still trying to be better than her?”
Caleb slammed him into the wall.
“Where are Lena and the twins?”
The man’s eyes moved toward Samuel’s laptop.
“Ask the general.”
Caleb’s programmed phone was still connected.
He raised it.
“Cole?”
The general had heard everything.
His voice came through the speaker.
“Lena left the ceremony twelve minutes ago under military escort.”
“Where was she going?”
“To a protected medical residence.”
“Is she there?”
“No.”
Caleb’s blood ran cold.
“What happened?”
May you like
Cole took a breath.
“The escort vehicle arrived empty.”
