Chapter 7 - The Video Evidence
Julian’s breath hitched in his throat. He reached out to support himself against the cold corridor wall, his eyes wide with absolute panic.
“No...” Julian stammered, his knuckles turning white. “No... that’s... that’s impossible. The surgical lights were blinding...”
“The camera was equipped with polarized medical filters, Julian,” Dr. Arden said coldly. “The pulsing blood vessel running through the amniotic sac wall was clearly visible from three different angles. Furthermore, the audio recording picked up your exact words. You announced ‘Opening the membranes’ after I verbally instructed you that the sac was intact and required evaluation.”
Victoria’s confident posture shattered. She turned to her son, her eyes bulging. “Julian? What is she talking about? You told me it was a misunderstanding! You told me she grabbed you without warning!”
“He lied to you, Victoria,” Reid said, stepping forward, his eyes burning into Julian. “Just like he’s been lying to himself his whole life. He thought he was smart enough to pull off a murder right in front of a full surgical team.”
“It wasn't murder!” Julian suddenly screamed, breaking down completely, tears bursting from his eyes as years of suppressed rage and jealousy exploded out of him. “It wasn't murder! She wasn't even supposed to make it to twenty-nine weeks! You were never supposed to have a baby, Reid! You had three miscarriages! It was supposed to be my turn!”
The entire hallway went dead silent.
Nurses at the station stopped typing. The security guards tightened their grip on their belts. I sat in my wheelchair, my stomach churning with pure revulsion as Julian’s true, ugly nature was laid bare.
“My mother spent her entire life serving father!” Julian wept hysterical, pathetic tears, pointing a shaking finger at Reid. “And father left seventy percent of his estate to you! All I got was a trust fund that I couldn't touch unless you failed to produce an heir! I worked eighty hours a week in this hospital, ruining my health, while you lived comfortably in your suburban house with your perfect wife!”
“So you decided to kill my daughter?” Reid whispered, his voice trembling with a terrifying blend of sadness and fury. “A three-pound baby floating in a sac? You were going to let her bleed to death in front of her mother?”
“She wasn't a real baby yet!” Julian shrieked. “She was just a fetus in fluid! A couple of seconds, a cut of the scissors... it would have looked like a tragic complication! Everyone knows placental abruption kills premature infants!”
Victoria gasped, slapping her hand over her own mouth as she stared at her son in utter horror. Even she, with all her greed, was appalled by the dark confession pouring from Julian’s mouth.
“That’s enough,” the hospital legal representative said sternly, pulling out a smartphone and pressing a button. “Detectives, you can step in now.”
From around the corner of the hallway, two plainclothes police officers stepped into the light. One of them pulled a pair of steel handcuffs from his belt.
“Dr. Julian Vance,” the lead detective said, stepping up to Julian and forcing his arms behind his back. “You are under arrest for attempted premediated murder, felony child endangerment, and aggravated assault during a medical procedure.”
Snap. Snap.
The handcuffs clicked tightly around Julian’s wrists.
“Mom! Mom, do something!” Julian panicked, thrashing against the detective’s grip as they dragged him down the hallway. “Call the lawyers! Mom!”
Victoria collapsed onto a plastic waiting room chair, weeping hysterically into her mink coat, completely undone. Nobody moved to comfort her.
Reid turned back to me. He dropped to his knees in front of my wheelchair, burying his face in my lap. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, holding him tight as he wept deep, purging tears of relief and grief.
Dr. Arden walked over, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder.
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“It’s over, Maren,” she whispered. “He will never hurt your family again.”
I looked through the glass window of the NICU. Inside her warm, glowing isolette, tiny Wren kicked her foot softly, her heart monitor beating in a steady, perfect, triumphant song.
