Chapter 6
Claire snatched the phone off the table before anyone could stop her. Her fingers left smudges of sweat and blood on the glass screen as she stared at the glowing text. Her breath hitched, her lungs burning as if she were drowning.
"'If the cops show up, the brat goes into the incinerator,'" Claire read aloud, each word trembling with a fury so pure and lethal it silenced the entire room. She looked down at Luke, who was kneeling on the floor, restrained by two armed men. "Look at me, Luke. Read those words. Did you know they were going to kill her?"
Luke’s face crumpled. The arrogance, the desperate corporate excuses, the defensive lies—all of it shattered, leaving behind a hollow, terrified shell. "No... no, Claire, I swear to God... they told me it was an adoption! They swore she would be taken to Europe!"
"You gave our daughter to monsters!" Claire screamed, hurling the phone directly at Luke's chest. The device bounced off his sweater and clattered against the tiles. "Eli! Where was the woman going when you saw her?"
Eli peeked out from behind Camille’s scrubs, his small voice shaking. "She didn't go up the stairs, Mommy. She had a badge with a green sticker, and she used it to go through the heavy metal door that says 'Authorized Personnel Only'."
Camille gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. "The service elevator. It goes straight to the sub-basement morgue and the waste disposal incinerators."
Officer Marcus immediately pressed the transmitter button on his shoulder radio. "Dispatch, this is Unit 4 in Room 412. We have confirmation of an infant abduction in progress. Suspect is a female in a yellow raincoat with green-tier service clearance. She is heading toward the sub-basement incinerator facility. Seal all lower-level loading docks immediately!"
Static crackled over the radio, followed by an urgent dispatcher's voice: Unit 4, sub-basement access was locked down three minutes ago following the Code Pink trigger. However, auxiliary power has been cut in Sector C. Security cameras on the incinerator floor are completely offline.
"They have someone inside the facilities team," Camille whispered, terror lacing her voice. "That's how she got the green badge. That's how she bypassed the nursery alarms."
Claire threw the bedsheets aside, swinging her legs over the edge of the mattress.
"Mrs. Mercer, no!" Camille rushed to her side, trying to hold her down by the shoulders. "You're only four hours post-op! Your incision will rupture! You can't walk!"
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"I don't give a damn about my incision!" Claire snarled, pushing Camille’s hands away with unnatural strength. Her bare feet hit the cold floor, and a sharp, blinding wave of agony ripped through her abdomen, nearly forcing her to her knees. She gripped the IV pole for support, her vision graying at the edges, but she forced herself upright. "My baby is in a basement with a burner. I am not lying in this bed while my daughter is executed."
She looked down at Luke, her eyes burning like white phosphorus. "Get him up. He's coming with us. He's going to tell them he brought the rest of what they wanted, or I will kill him myself."
