Chapter 5 - The Showdown in Court
The next night, Claire lay in her private recovery suite at a secure, undisclosed clinic outside the city. Her burns throbbed beneath the sterile dressings, a constant, burning reminder of the family she had tried so hard to save.
The door to her room creaked open.
Claire tensed, reaching for the emergency call button beside her bed. But the figure that stepped into the dim light wasn't a doctor or an assassin. It was Ryan.
He looked disheveled, his tie undone, his eyes bloodshot and frantic. "Claire, don't scream. Please. I used my old security badge to get into the building."
"Get out, Ryan," Claire hissed, her hand hovering over the button. "If you touch me, the guards outside will—"
"I'm not here to hurt you!" Ryan broke down, falling to his knees beside her bed. "Mom has gone completely insane. She’s trying to liquidate the entire company tonight through a shell corporation in Panama. She’s going to take the money and leave me to take the fall for the lab. The federal agents think I signed the distribution orders, Claire. But it wasn't me—Mom forged my signature."
Claire looked down at him. The man who had been her partner was now a broken puppet, discarded by his own mother the moment the strings began to tangle.
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"Why should I believe you?" Claire asked.
"Because I have the encryption key," Ryan said, pulling a small silver USB drive from his pocket. "It accesses the private account where the offshore funds are held. If you take this to the court tomorrow, you can prove she did it all. Just... tell the prosecutor I helped you. Please, Claire. Don't let me go to prison for her."
