Chapter 10 - The Husband Who Signed Her Away
Mark moved toward the bed.
Two hospital security officers followed him.
Behind them stood Samuel Voss, a thin attorney with silver glasses.
“Step away from my wife,” Mark said.
Lena raised her badge.
“Detective Ortiz. She is part of an active criminal investigation.”
Voss held up the court order.
“She is now under protective psychiatric supervision.”
“Based on a petition from the man she accused of helping his mother torture her.”
Mark’s face tightened.
“My wife is sick.”
Natalie sat up.
“I am not sick.”
He looked at her with practiced sadness.
“You jumped through a window.”
“Because you held me down while your mother stabbed me.”
“She injured herself.”
Ethan stepped forward.
“I examined the wound. It was inflicted by another person.”
Voss turned to him.
“You are not a neutral physician, Doctor Cole. Your past disciplinary record includes an obsession with the Mercer family.”
“There was no discipline.”
“There was an investigation.”
The security officers exchanged uncertain looks.
The fire alarms continued to ring.
Lena placed herself between the bed and Mark.
“No one moves her until I contact the district attorney.”
Voss smiled.
“The district attorney’s office has already declined your request.”
Lena’s expression changed.
He was telling the truth.
Diane had moved faster than they expected.
Mark approached Natalie.
“Come home.”
She stared at him.
“You knew my mother was alive.”
“I learned today.”
“You knew about the trial.”
“I knew there had been a medical study.”
“You knew Anna.”
His eyes flickered.
“Natalie, this is not the place.”
“You held me while Diane drove a needle into my chest.”
“You attacked her.”
“I begged you to help me.”
“Lower your voice.”
The familiar command struck something inside Natalie.
For years, she had lowered her voice.
At dinners.
In bedrooms.
During arguments.
While bleeding.
Not now.
“You married me because your family selected my body.”
People in the corridor turned toward them.
Mark’s face reddened.
“You are confused.”
“You cannot have children naturally, and you blamed me.”
“Natalie.”
“You were married before, and that woman disappeared.”
“Stop.”
“You watched your mother torture both of us.”
Mark seized the edge of the bed.
“Enough.”
Natalie slapped him.
The corridor fell silent except for the alarms.
Mark slowly touched his cheek.
Then his expression changed.
The loving husband vanished.
He grabbed Natalie by the throat.
Security rushed forward.
Lena pulled him away and forced him against the wall.
Dozens of hospital workers had seen it.
Several were filming.
Voss shouted that Mark had been provoked.
It no longer mattered.
Mark had exposed himself.
Lena handcuffed him.
“You are under arrest for assault.”
“My mother will destroy you,” Mark said.
Lena tightened the cuffs.
“She can try.”
Voss stepped back and made a phone call.
Natalie looked at Ethan.
“Will the videos be enough?”
“For this assault, yes. Not for everything else.”
“What about the court order?”
“Mark’s behavior may help us challenge it.”
A second group of officers entered the corridor.
They wore Bellhaven Police uniforms.
Their captain approached Lena.
“Release him.”
Lena turned.
“On whose authority?”
“The district attorney.”
“He assaulted her in front of witnesses.”
“We received instructions.”
“You received a bribe.”
The captain’s face hardened.
“Hand over your weapon and badge.”
Natalie’s hope collapsed.
Lena looked at Ethan.
He nodded once.
Then the hospital lights failed.
Not the sprinklers.
Not the alarms.
Every light.
Emergency power did not activate.
The corridor plunged into darkness.
Someone grabbed Natalie’s bed.
It began moving rapidly.
“Ethan?”
No answer.
A cloth covered Natalie’s mouth.
A sweet chemical odor filled her nose.
She kicked, but her limbs weakened almost immediately.
The final thing she heard was Diane’s voice near her ear.
“You should have signed the papers when I asked.”
When Natalie woke, leather straps held her wrists to a narrow table.
A divided-circle symbol glowed above her.
May you like
Diane stood beside a tray of needles.
And behind a glass wall, Mark was no longer wearing handcuffs.
