Chapter 3 - The Men in Dark Suits
Maxwell reacted instantly. Before Dr. Reeves could even finish his sentence, Maxwell was out of his chair, stepping between the doctor and the twins.
"Mark, John," Maxwell barked at his two lead bodyguards. "Lock this room. Nobody steps inside without my explicit command. If anyone tries to force their way in, drop them."
"Understood, Mr. Donovan," the head guard replied, drawing a sleek, concealed sidearm and positioning himself in front of the girls.
Maxwell sprinted down the long, carpeted hallway toward Room 412, Dr. Reeves struggling to keep up with his long, furious strides.
Outside Elizabeth’s room, two men in identical dark grey suits and silver lapel pins stood guard. They were tall, square-jawed, and possessed the rigid posture of government operatives.
As Maxwell approached, one of the men stepped forward, placing a hand flat against Maxwell's chest.
"Sir, this room is restricted under a federal health directive," the agent said in a monotone, unyielding voice. "Step back immediately."
Maxwell didn't step back. He grabbed the agent’s wrist, applying a precise, painful pressure point he had learned from decades of private security training, forcing the man's arm down while stepping directly into his space.
"This is my private facility now," Maxwell snarled, his eyes dark with unbridled fury. "You have three seconds to take your hands off me before my security team throws you out of that window."
The second agent reached beneath his jacket, but before he could draw his weapon, the door to Room 412 opened from the inside.
A woman in her late fifties stepped out. She wore a tailored charcoal skirt suit, her graying hair pulled back into a tight, severe bun. Her face was cold, calculating, and instantly recognizable to Maxwell.
It was Victoria Vance—the former Chief Legal Counsel for Donovan Systems, and the personal executor of his late mother’s estate.
Maxwell froze, his mind racing. "Victoria?"
Victoria Vance looked at Maxwell with a mixture of mild pity and cold annoyance. She held a thick, red leather folder under her arm.
"Maxwell," Victoria said smoothly, stepping out into the hallway and closing the door behind her. "I expected you to be in the board meeting with the Japanese delegation. Your assistant has been frantically calling my office for the past hour."
"What are you doing here, Victoria?" Maxwell demanded, taking a step toward her, his voice echoing off the hospital walls. "Why are federal agents standing outside Elizabeth’s room?"
"Because Mrs. Winters is not just a patient, Maxwell," Victoria said calmly, adjusting her wire-rimmed glasses. "She is a legal liability to the Donovan family. And she has been for thirty years."
Maxwell’s blood ran cold. "What did you do?"
"Your mother, Eleanor, was a very thorough woman, Max," Victoria explained, her voice devoid of any human warmth. "When Elizabeth Winters became pregnant with your child thirty years ago, Eleanor recognized the immense risk to the family’s corporate empire. If Elizabeth had claimed paternity, the Donovan trust would have been fractured. So, your mother created a legally binding, non-disclosure trust."
"Elizabeth told me she wrote to me!" Maxwell shouted, slamming his fist against the wall beside Victoria's head. "She sent letters! She sent photos!"
"And those letters were processed through my office," Victoria replied without flinching. "Your mother paid Elizabeth’s father two hundred thousand dollars to take his family and leave Seattle. Elizabeth didn't know about the money at first, of course. But when her father took the cash and vanished, your mother offered Elizabeth a choice: sign a full waiver relinquishing all rights to the Donovan name, or face criminal charges for corporate extortion."
"She was eighteen years old!" Maxwell roared, tears of pure rage burning his eyes. "You terrified an eighteen-year-old girl!"
"We protected the company!" Victoria snapped back, her eyes narrowing. "And we protected you! You were brilliant, Maxwell. You were destined to build a tech empire. A pregnant scholarship girl from the valley would have dragged you down into mediocrity!"
"She was the love of my life!" Maxwell yelled, his voice breaking. "You stole my daughter! You stole my family! You let my daughter grow up without a father!"
"And where is that daughter now?" Victoria asked coldly. "Dead in an automobile accident. It’s tragic, Maxwell, truly. But it simplifies things. And now, Elizabeth Winters is dying. In a matter of days, this entire unfortunate chapter of your past will be closed forever."
" closed?" Maxwell whispered, stepping dangerously close to Victoria, his shadow completely engulfing her. "You think this is over?"
"It has to be," Victoria said, tapping the red folder. "I have a court order signed by a state judge. As the executor of the Donovan Family Trust, I am exercising our right to transfer Elizabeth Winters to a private hospice facility in Idaho. Away from the media. Away from you."
"She stays here," Maxwell said, his voice dropping into a register of terrifying, absolute calm.
"You don't have the legal standing, Maxwell," Victoria smirked softly. "You never married her. Paternity was never legally established for Charlotte. You are legally a stranger to Elizabeth Winters."
At that exact moment, two men in white lab coats rushed down the hallway, accompanied by Rachel Hayes and four armed security guards.
The lead physician—a world-renowned oncologist named Dr. Henrik Lindqvist, whom Rachel had flown in from Johns Hopkins—stepped up to Maxwell.
"Mr. Donovan?" Dr. Lindqvist asked, wiping sweat from his forehead. "I arrived as fast as I could. I have the experimental immunotherapy protocols with me."
Victoria sneered. "It doesn't matter who you flew in, Max. This room is seized under trust authority. Agents, escort Mr. Donovan out of the building."
The two federal operatives stepped forward.
Maxwell didn't move an inch. He slowly reached into his inner pocket, pulled out his smartphone, and tapped a single button on the screen.
"Rachel," Maxwell said, his eyes never leaving Victoria's face. "Is the acquisition complete?"
Rachel looked at her tablet and offered a sharp, cold smile. "Thirty seconds ago, Maxwell. Donovan Systems bought Rainier Memorial Hospital and its parent healthcare network for six hundred and fifty million dollars in an all-cash transaction. You are now the sole owner of this entire facility."
Victoria’s face went completely blank. "What?"
Maxwell leaned down until his lips were inches from Victoria’s ear.
"This is my hospital now, Victoria," Maxwell whispered, his voice laced with venom. "You and your agents are trespassing on private property."
May you like
He turned to his lead security guard.
"Mark," Maxwell commanded coldly. "Disarm these two men. Throw Victoria Vance out into the rain. And if she ever sets foot near Elizabeth or my granddaughters again... break her legs."
