Chapter 16 - THE SYRINGE
Doctors rushed Lily back into neonatal intensive care.
Noah stood beside Mia as the medical team examined their daughter.
The empty syringe had contained a clear liquid.
Scarlett claimed she had used saline.
No one believed her.
Toxicology results would take hours.
Lily’s heart rate became irregular.
Mia watched through the glass, unable to enter while the doctors worked.
“She was stable before Scarlett took her.”
Noah placed his hands on her shoulders.
“She will fight.”
“She should never have needed to.”
Mia’s voice broke.
Noah had no answer.
He wanted to promise everything would be fine.
He had learned that promises could become another kind of lie.
So he stayed beside her without pretending.
At midnight, the neonatal specialist entered.
“The syringe contained a sedative.”
Mia’s knees weakened.
“The dose was dangerous for an infant this small.”
“Can you reverse it?”
“We have already administered treatment.”
“Her breathing is improving.”
Mia covered her mouth.
Noah closed his eyes.
“Will there be permanent damage?”
“It is too early to know.”
The next twelve hours moved slowly.
Lily’s oxygen level rose.
Her heart rhythm stabilized.
By morning, she opened her eyes.
Mia placed one hand through the incubator opening.
Lily’s tiny fingers curled around it.
“She knows you,” the nurse whispered.
Mia began crying.
Noah turned away briefly, overwhelmed by relief.
Agent Claire Donovan entered later with an update.
Victor had survived surgery.
Scarlett had been charged with attempted murder, kidnapping, assault, and conspiracy.
The syringe connected her directly to the attempt on Lily’s life.
“She says Victor gave it to her,” Claire explained.
“Victor says Scarlett acted alone.”
“They are blaming each other.”
“Good,” Mia said.
Claire placed a sealed evidence bag on the table.
Inside was Noah’s father’s letter.
“We found something written on the back.”
Noah turned it over.
A list of initials appeared beneath a date.
V.L.
S.P.
A.C.
W.H.
Victor Lang.
Samuel Price.
Arthur Crane.
William Hawthorne.
Four senior members of the board.
The corruption extended far beyond Victor and Scarlett.
Mia looked at Noah.
“The emergency vote.”
“They were all trying to take control.”
Noah nodded.
“The company is still compromised.”
His phone rang.
Samuel Price’s assistant was calling.
Samuel had been found dead inside his office.
A handwritten confession rested beside him.
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But the security footage showed another man entering the office ten minutes before his death.
The man wore lion cuff links.
