Chapter 13 - The Groom's BloodEthan walked directly to the nurses' station.
“I need another blood test.”
Dr. Patel looked up from Lily's chart.
“We drew yours yesterday.”
“Draw it again.”
“Why?”
“Because Claire just asked someone what they did to me.”
Dr. Patel stood.
“Now?”
“Now.”
Detective Chen arrived before the results.
Claire was still somewhere in the hospital.
Martin had stopped answering all calls.
The board believed he was at home.
His attorney claimed he was unavailable.
Chen sent officers.
Ethan sat beside Lily.
She was awake now, coloring.
“Are you sick too?” she asked.
“No.”
“You're getting blood taken.”
“That's because Dr. Patel enjoys stabbing me.”
Lily gasped theatrically.
“Mean.”
“Terrible person.”
Dr. Patel, passing the doorway, said, “I heard that.”
Lily smiled.
For a moment, Ethan's world narrowed to the child in front of him.
Then Claire appeared at the far end of the corridor.
She stopped when she saw Detective Chen.
Claire turned.
Chen called her name.
“Ms. Whitmore.”
Claire stopped.
Ethan watched the exchange from Lily's doorway.
Claire answered questions calmly.
Where had she been?
Hospital cafeteria.
Who had she called?
Wedding coordinator.
Would she provide her phone?
“I'd like to speak with an attorney.”
Chen nodded.
“That's your right.”
Claire looked toward Ethan.
Their eyes met.
She knew something had changed.
Not everything.
Something.
Ethan returned to Lily's room.
Thirty minutes later, Dr. Patel called him aside.
His new bloodwork showed the same marker.
Lower concentration than Lily.
Higher than yesterday.
Ethan stared at her.
“So I was exposed recently.”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“We can't tell precisely.”
“Hours?”
“Possibly.”
“What did I consume?”
“That's what we need to identify.”
Ethan thought backward.
Coffee.
Dinner.
Bottled water.
Nothing Claire hadn't also touched.
Unless the target wasn't in the household food.
His office.
Martin's conference room.
The coffee Martin's assistant had brought yesterday.
He called Nora.
“Get company security. Preserve everything from my office.”
“Already happening.”
“Martin may have exposed me there.”
“Detective Chen just told me.”
“Where is Martin?”
“Gone.”
Ethan's chest tightened.
“What does gone mean?”
“Officers reached his house. Car is there. Phone is there.”
“He ran.”
“Maybe.”
“Airport?”
“Chen's checking.”
Nora paused.
“I found something else.”
“Of course you did.”
“You signed the management continuity framework three weeks ago.”
“No, I didn't.”
“You did.”
“I remember refusing.”
“You refused the Claire-specific draft. Then Martin gave you a larger emergency governance package.”
Ethan remembered a stack of documents before a board retreat.
Routine resolutions.
Insurance renewals.
Crisis authority.
He had signed them electronically.
“What did I authorize?”
“Temporary operational powers if you're medically incapacitated.”
“To whom?”
“The executive committee.”
“Martin chairs it.”
“Yes.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
“Claire doesn't need to marry me.”
“No.”
“The wedding is distraction.”
“Maybe.”
“Then why move it earlier?”
Nora answered carefully.
“Because marriage gives her emotional access. Household access. Potential standing in medical decisions. But not automatic control of your company.”
“So Martin used her.”
“Looks increasingly likely.”
“Claire used me too.”
“Yes.”
Ethan appreciated Nora's refusal to soften anything.
That afternoon police located Martin.
He wasn't fleeing.
He was at Mercer headquarters.
In Ethan's office.
When officers arrived, Martin's attorneys were with him.
So was half the board.
Martin had called an emergency meeting.
Ethan saw the notice on his phone.
SUBJECT: CEO MEDICAL FITNESS AND CONTINUITY.
His hands went cold.
Martin wasn't running.
He was moving.
Fast.
Ethan called the board chair.
“What's this?”
“Martin says you've been behaving erratically.”
“I've been poisoned.”
Silence.
“What?”
“He knows that.”
“Ethan, what are you talking about?”
“Do not vote on anything until I arrive.”
“You're in a hospital.”
“Exactly.”
He ended the call.
Dr. Patel blocked him near the elevator.
“You are not leaving.”
“My company is being stolen.”
“Your blood pressure is unstable.”
“I'll steal it back sitting down.”
She did not find that funny.
Detective Chen refused to let him go without medical clearance.
Ethan compromised.
He joined by secure video.
Martin appeared on the boardroom screen looking concerned.
“Ethan, nobody is trying to take anything from you.”
“Then cancel the meeting.”
“We have fiduciary obligations.”
“You have a remarkable vocabulary for betrayal.”
The directors shifted uncomfortably.
Martin sighed.
“This is exactly what concerns me.”
Ethan almost laughed.
“You mean me objecting while you use my illness to invoke authority you arranged?”
Martin's expression barely changed.
Then another window appeared on the conference screen.
Claire.
She had joined remotely.
Ethan stared.
Martin said, “Claire requested to address the board.”
Ethan's heartbeat thudded.
Claire looked pale.
“Actually,” she said, “I didn't request anything.”
Martin's smile faltered.
Claire continued.
“And before anyone votes, there's something they need to know about the wellness program.”
Martin interrupted.
“Claire, this isn't the forum.”
She looked directly into the camera.
May you like
“No, Martin. I think this is exactly the forum.”
Then her screen went black.
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