Chapter 1 - The Operating Room and the Poisoned Tea
The operating room was a chaotic blur of green scrubs, glaring overhead surgical lights, and the frantic, rhythmic beeping of monitors. The anesthetic hit my bloodstream like liquid ice, pulling the edges of my consciousness inward. Through the haze, I could still hear the terrifying dip in my baby’s heart rate—the desperate, shallow drops that signaled distress.
Stay alive. Richard Prescott’s words echoed in my mind. Stay alive for that baby.
Dr. Caleb Monroe leaned over me, his eyes focused and calm despite the panic in the room. “Natalie, look at me. We’re going to get your little boy out safely. You’re in good hands.”
“The tea…” I whispered, the words barely escaping my lips. “In my bag… the tea Owen gave me…”
Caleb frowned, pausing for a fraction of a second. “What about the tea?”
“Stronger blend…” I murmured before the darkness finally pulled me under.
Outside the surgical suite, the drama was only intensifying. Richard Prescott stood in the corridor, his jaw clenched, staring down at the small foil packet of herbal tea that had tumbled from Owen’s bag. He picked it up with a gloved hand, examining the handwriting.
“Dad, you don’t understand,” Owen stammered, stepping toward his father. His hair was still damp, his white coat crooked. “That’s just some herbal supplement Natalie likes for her sleep and circulation—it’s nothing—!”
“Shut up, Owen,” Richard snarled, his voice carrying the terrifying authority of a man who owned the entire medical network. He turned to the head of hospital security, who had materialized at the end of the hall. “Take this packet immediately to the hospital’s toxicology lab. I want a full breakdown of every active ingredient in this blend. If there is so much as a trace of uterine-stimulating herbs or unauthorized compounds in here, I want a complete report on my desk before sunrise.”
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Owen went completely white. “Dad, you can’t lab-test personal items without a warrant—that’s a privacy—!”
“You forfeit your right to privacy the moment you betray this hospital, your oath, and your wife,” Richard cut him off, his voice dropping to a freezing whisper. “And as for you, Dr. Prescott? Your privileges at Hawthorne Memorial are suspended, effective immediately.”
