The private ambulance was backed up to the emergency loading dock, its engine idling.
I slammed on the brakes, leaving my truck parked diagonally across the ambulance driveway, completely blocking its exit.
I stepped out into the rain, feeling the cold weight of the broken locket in my palm.
It was time to tear Arthur’s world apart.
The hospital loading dock was a scene of controlled chaos.
Four local police officers stood nervously near the ambulance, their hands hovering near their belts.
But they weren't moving forward.
They were completely blocked.
Standing shoulder-to-shoulder, forming a massive, silent human wall across the entire loading bay, were fifty men from the Steelmen brotherhood.
They wore oil-stained boots, heavy denim, and leather vests.
They didn't shout.
They didn't raise their hands.
They simply stood there, an immovable mountain of blue-collar loyalty, blocking the private medical team from moving the stretcher any further.
The crowd of men parted instantly when they saw me walking up the ramp.
They stepped back, creating a narrow corridor for me to pass through.
At the center of the standoff stood Trent Lasko, flanked by Dr. Harris and the panicked private medics.
Behind them, sitting upright on a transport stretcher, was Lily.
Her arm was heavily wrapped in a sling, a massive purple bruise coloring the side of her pale face.
When she saw me, her breath hitched.
"Grandpa," she whispered, her voice cracking.
Trent stepped forward, his perfectly groomed face red with furious arrogance.
He pointed a finger at my chest.
"You can't be here, Silas," Trent spat, loud enough for the police to hear. "This is a private medical transfer authorized by a judge. Have your thugs stand down immediately, or I will have every single one of you arrested for federal kidnapping."
I didn't stop walking until I was inches away from his face.
"Is the girl awake?" I asked, my voice deadly calm.
"She already gave her statement," Trent snapped, stepping in front of the stretcher to block my view of Lily. "She fell down the stairs at home. It's over."
"She didn't fall," I said.
Trent scoffed, glancing at the nervous police officers.
"How would you know? You weren't there. You’re a violent, estranged old man who doesn't know when to walk away."
"Because I know what fear sounds like when it's forced to lie," I said.
I reached into my pocket and threw the security guard’s cell phone onto the stretcher, right onto Lily’s lap.