Two hours later, the quiet, sterile hallway of Dallas General Hospital was filled with the soft sound of footsteps as Gabriel walked alongside Dr. Elizabeth Hayes down toward the private recovery wing.
Gabriel: How is she doing, Dr. Hayes?
Dr. Hayes: Elena has second-degree thermal burns covering about six inches of her right forearm, Mr. Sterling. We cleaned the burn, applied specialized antibiotic dressing, and started her on pain management.
Gabriel: Will there be permanent scarring?
Dr. Hayes: With proper care and skin grafting treatment over the next few months, the scar will fade significantly. The key right now is keeping her calm and stress-free.
Gabriel: Spare no expense, Doctor. Send every bill directly to my personal office. I will cover everything, including her physical therapy.
Dr. Hayes: You're a good man, Mr. Sterling. Most employers wouldn't step up like this for their domestic staff.
Gabriel: She's not just staff, Doctor. She's been a loyal worker in my house for three years. Nobody deserves to be treated like an animal.
Gabriel pushed open the door to Room 304. Elena was sitting up in the hospital bed, her right arm wrapped neatly in white bandages, holding a plastic cup of ice water with her left hand.
Gabriel: Hey, Elena. How are you feeling?
Elena: Mr. Gabriel... you didn't have to come all the way to the hospital. You have a company to run.
Gabriel: My company can wait. The doctors told me you're going to make a full recovery, but you need to rest for at least a month.
Elena: A month?! But who is going to take care of the mansion? Who is going to manage the kitchen?
Gabriel: Marcus is hiring a professional service to handle the cleaning. You are on paid medical leave for as long as you need, Elena. Full salary, plus bonus.
Elena's eyes filled with tears, her voice shaking as she looked up at him.
Elena: I don't know what to say... thank you, Mr. Gabriel. Thank you so much.
Gabriel: You don't have to thank me. In fact, I owe you an apology. I should have seen how cruel Chloe was much earlier. I should have protected my staff better.
Elena: She was very clever, sir. She only acted like that when you were out of the room or traveling for work.
A knock sounded at the door, and Gabriel's primary corporate attorney, Arthur Pendelton, walked into the room carrying a leather briefcase.
Arthur: Gabriel, I just came from the magistrate court downtown. We have major updates on the Montgomery situation.
Gabriel: Did the federal marshals search the USB drive Elena found?
Arthur: They decrypted the drive an hour ago. It contained complete offshore ledger accounts showing over forty million dollars in laundered money transferred from Harrison Montgomery's firm straight into Chloe's personal boutique bank accounts in Grand Cayman.
Gabriel: She wasn't just hiding evidence for her father... she was the main accomplice!
Arthur: She was the primary officer on three shell companies used to clean the money. The IRS and the Department of Justice just filed formal federal indictments against both Chloe and her father.
Elena: What will happen to her now, Mr. Pendelton?
Arthur: Between the felony assault on you, Elena, and the federal wire fraud charges, Chloe is looking at fifteen to twenty years in federal prison without parole.