Chapter 9 - Five Minutes
Claire climbed the stairs carrying the red vial inside her coat.
She left the archive documents with Elena, Rebecca, and Melissa.
At the top of the chapel, Daniel waited beside Lily.
Two armed security officers stood near the entrance.
Evelyn sat in the front pew as though attending a private service.
Lily’s skin was pale.
A hospital nurse held a syringe connected to Lily’s chest port.
Claire stopped halfway across the room.
“Let her go.”
Daniel smiled.
“Bring the archive.”
“You don’t need her.”
“I need your cooperation.”
Evelyn examined Claire with disgust.
“You always did mistake stubbornness for courage.”
Claire ignored her.
“Lily, look at me.”
Lily lifted her eyes.
“I’m here, sweetheart.”
“The formula hurts.”
“I know.”
Daniel held out his hand.
“The files.”
“I want Lily first.”
“No.”
“Then you get nothing.”
The nurse glanced nervously at Daniel.
“The dose should be administered now.”
“Wait,” he said.
Claire noticed the nurse’s hands trembling.
She did not look like a willing participant.
Claire moved one step closer.
Daniel’s guards raised their weapons.
“Stop.”
“You’re going to shoot me in front of Lily?”
“If necessary.”
Evelyn stood.
“Daniel, stop wasting time. Take the child downstairs.”
Claire looked at her grandmother.
“Why do you hate her so much?”
Evelyn’s expression remained cold.
“I do not hate Lily.”
“You called her a disgrace.”
“I was trying to make you leave.”
Claire hesitated.
“What?”
Evelyn looked toward the security guards.
Something changed in her eyes.
Fear.
Daniel turned sharply.
“Mother.”
Evelyn continued.
“The dinner was supposed to drive you away from the family before the board authorized Lily’s transfer.”
“You humiliated a sick child to protect her?”
“I expected you to disappear.”
“You could have warned me.”
“Daniel was watching every conversation.”
Daniel grabbed Evelyn’s arm.
“That is enough.”
She pulled free.
“You promised the child would only be observed.”
“And she was.”
“You changed the formula.”
“She became unstable.”
“You made her unstable.”
Claire watched them.
For the first time, Daniel’s calm exterior broke.
“You enjoyed Meridian’s money for forty years,” he said. “Do not pretend you found a conscience tonight.”
Evelyn slapped him.
One of the guards moved.
Daniel raised a hand to stop him.
Lily suddenly swayed.
The nurse caught her.
“She needs treatment now.”
Claire opened her coat enough for the nurse to see the red vial.
The woman’s eyes widened.
Claire silently mouthed one word.
Help.
Daniel faced Claire again.
“Where is Rebecca?”
“Alive.”
“And Warren?”
“Also alive.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
It was the first confirmation Claire needed. He had not known for certain.
Behind him, Evelyn slowly reached into her dress pocket.
Claire saw the edge of Melissa’s missing recorder.
Evelyn had taken it from the wreck.
She pressed a button.
Daniel’s earlier words echoed softly from the device.
You enjoyed Meridian’s money for forty years.
The guards looked at each other.
Daniel lunged toward Evelyn.
Claire moved at the same moment.
She struck the nearest guard’s wrist. His weapon fell.
The nurse pulled Lily behind a pew.
Evelyn threw the recorder toward Claire.
The second guard grabbed Evelyn.
Daniel drew a pistol from beneath his jacket.
Before he could aim, the chapel lights went out.
Rebecca’s voice sounded through the darkness.
“Samuel, now.”
A deafening alarm erupted.
Emergency doors slammed shut.
Blue lights flashed.
Dr. Warren appeared through the side entrance carrying a fire axe.
He struck Daniel’s arm.
The pistol skidded across the floor.
Claire reached Lily.
The nurse disconnected the syringe from her port.
“What did they give her?” Claire asked.
“An activation compound.”
“Can this reverse it?”
Claire showed her the red vial.
The nurse’s face changed.
“I’ve never seen that.”
Dr. Warren joined them.
He took the vial and read the label.
“This is Anna’s protocol.”
“Will it save Lily?”
“It may stop the reaction.”
“May?”
“It was never tested.”
Lily moaned and clutched her stomach.
Daniel struggled against Rebecca near the altar.
Evelyn struck the guard holding her with the recorder.
Sirens approached outside.
Dr. Warren filled a syringe from the red vial.
“If we do nothing, the activation dose could shut down her organs.”
Claire held Lily’s hand.
“What happens if you inject it?”
“I don’t know.”
Lily opened her eyes.
“Mommy.”
Claire brushed her hair away.
“I’m here.”
“I don’t want Grandma to be scared.”
Claire looked back.
Evelyn stood frozen beneath the blue emergency lights, staring at Lily.
For the first time, the old woman looked ashamed.
Dr. Warren waited.
Claire nodded.
“Do it.”
He injected the reversal protocol.
Lily’s body went rigid.
May you like
The heart monitor screamed.
Then every light in the chapel went black.
