Arthur: Leo... sweetie, you don't understand what you've done...
Dr. Vance: Mr. Sterling, what is the meaning of this? You came into our emergency unit three weeks ago with full X-rays showing a compound fracture!
Arthur: The doctors who admitted me... they verified my condition! I was in terrible pain!
Leo: He wasn't in pain, Doctor. I saw him standing up in his room last night when he thought everyone was sleeping.
Dr. Hayes: You saw him walking?
Leo: He was walking around the bed, putting his shoes on! When I knocked on the door, he jumped back into bed and put his leg under the covers!
Doctor Miller stepped toward the head of the bed, his brow furrowing as he noticed a faint, metallic glint peeking out from beneath the fitted white mattress cover near Arthur's hip.
Dr. Miller: Wait a minute. What is that under your pillow, Mr. Sterling?
Arthur: Don't touch that! That's my personal medical monitoring equipment!
Dr. Miller: This hospital provides all monitoring equipment, sir. Let me see that.
Doctor Miller reached down and pulled back the corner of the heavy cotton sheet. Beneath the bedding lay a sleek, black electronic device the size of a thick tablet, wired directly into a small transmitter hidden behind the bedside nightstand. A soft, high-pitched electronic beep emitted from the screen as Doctor Miller picked it up.
Dr. Vance: What... is this?
Dr. Hayes: That looks like an encrypted digital signal jammer. It's connected to the room's telemetry network!
Leo: He was using it to fake his heart rate and blood pressure! Every time my mom came into the room to talk about the family trust fund, he pressed a button to make the machines beep loudly!
Arthur: Shut up, Leo! You little brat, you have no idea what is at stake here!
The frail, helpless tone in Arthur's voice vanished completely, replaced by a cold, sharp rage that made all three doctors step back in shock. Arthur swung his bare legs over the side of the hospital bed, standing up on his own two feet with perfect balance and strength.
Dr. Vance: Mr. Sterling! You're standing!
Arthur: Of course I'm standing, you incompetent fools! My legs are perfectly fine!
Leo: I knew it. You were lying to Mom so she would hand over the house deed!
Arthur glared at his grandson, his face twisting into a bitter sneer as he brushed broken bits of plaster off his hospital gown.
Arthur: You think you're so smart, don't you? You ruined six months of careful planning over a stupid rock!