The fluorescent lights of the Dallas General emergency wing buzzed softly overhead. Mark sat on a hard plastic chair outside Trauma Room 3, his light button-down shirt stained with Chloe's blood. Elena stood near the water cooler, holding two paper cups, her glasses sliding down her sweaty nose as she tried to calm her nerves.
Elena: Here, Mr. Sterling. Drink some water. You haven't had anything in hours.
Mark: Thank you, Elena. I don't know what I would have done without you tonight.
Elena: I just did what was right, sir. Mrs. Sterling has been picking on Mrs. Chloe since the day she moved in.
Mark: I should have seen it coming. I knew how greedy my mother was about the inheritance fund, but I never thought she'd commit violence.
Elena: Greed makes people monsters, sir.
The heavy double doors of the quiet hallway opened, and a tall man in a tailored navy suit marched toward them, carrying a thick leather briefcase. It was Arthur Vance, the lead defense attorney for the wealthy Sterling family estate.
Arthur: Mark! I came as fast as I could when I heard the news.
Mark: Why are you here, Arthur? Did Victoria call you from central booking?
Arthur: Your mother called my office two hours ago. She wants me to post her bail and drop all charges immediately.
Mark: She shoved my pregnant wife down glass stairs! We have high-definition video proof of her doing it!
Arthur: I saw the incident report, Mark. But as the legal executor of the Sterling trust, I need to remind you what is at stake here.
Mark: I don't care about the trust! I care about my wife and my child!
Arthur set his briefcase down on an empty hospital chair, leaning closer to Mark with a cold, professional expression on his face.
Arthur: If your mother goes to trial for felony assault, the family business will fall apart. Stock values will drop by fifty percent by tomorrow morning.
Mark: Are you seriously telling me to protect the woman who tried to murder my family?!
Arthur: I am telling you to think about your financial future. We can settle this privately. We can offer Chloe a separate settlement fund of five million dollars if she agrees not to testify.
Elena stepped forward, her face turning bright red with anger as she interrupted the wealthy lawyer.
Elena: How dare you bring your filthy money into a hospital while she is fighting for her life in there!
Arthur: Keep quiet, maid. You are way out of your depth here.
Mark: Don't talk to her like that! Elena saved my wife's life while my mother tried to destroy it!
Arthur: Mark, be reasonable. Your mother made a mistake, but she is still your blood. You can't put her in prison.
Mark: Watch me, Arthur. If you try to release her on bail, I will release that video to every news station in the city before noon.
Arthur stared at Mark in total shock, realizing for the first time that his client's money had no power in this hospital corridor. Before he could speak again, the heavy doors of Trauma Room 3 swung open, and a doctor stepped out taking off his surgical mask.