Brenda swallowed hard, her eyes darting nervously toward the two giants blocking the door.
She puffed out her chest, trying to maintain her authority. "You are interfering in private family matters! This is illegal!"
Daxton looked at her. The corner of his mouth twitched in a cold, humorless smile. "Attempted murder over a hospital bed is not a family matter."
Vernon cradled his broken wrist against his chest, his face pale with pain. "We are just helping my mother finalize her legal affairs. It's none of your business."
Hearing the word 'legal', Charlotte turned her head.
She saw the thick stack of papers Vernon had dropped on the edge of the bed. She snatched the document up.
Her eyes scanned the bold text at the top. It was a Last Will and Testament. It explicitly transferred the ownership of a Brooklyn apartment building entirely to Ricky.
Charlotte flipped to the last page. At the bottom, next to the signature line, was a smeared, red thumbprint.
They had forced her dying grandmother to press her thumb in ink.
A cold, bitter laugh ripped from Charlotte's throat. She held the document up in the air.
"Is this what you are?" Charlotte asked, her voice shaking with pure hatred. "She is dying, and you are torturing her for a building?"
Ricky lunged forward, his hands reaching for the papers. "Give that back! That's mine!"
Daxton shifted his weight. He stepped slightly to the right, using his massive frame to block Ricky's path. His dark eyes locked onto the boy, daring him to take another step. Ricky froze.
Charlotte gripped the top of the forged will with both hands.
She pulled her hands apart. The thick paper ripped down the middle with a loud, satisfying tear.
Vernon's eyes bulged out of his head. "No! Stop!"
Charlotte ignored him. She placed the two halves together and ripped them again. She tore the document over and over until her hands were full of nothing but shredded confetti.
She threw the pieces directly into Vernon's face. The paper rained down on his shoulders.
Seeing her son's inheritance destroyed, Brenda lost her mind.
She let out a feral screech and lunged toward the hospital bed. She reached her hands out, aiming directly for the plastic tube connecting Eleanor to the oxygen tank.
Charlotte gasped. She threw herself over her grandmother's chest, taking the brunt of the attack.
Brenda's sharp, manicured nails dug into the back of Charlotte's neck, dragging downward and leaving three deep, bleeding scratches.
A sharp hiss of pain escaped Charlotte's lips.
Daxton's eyes darkened to pitch black.
He reached out and grabbed the back of Brenda's collar. He lifted the woman off the ground with one arm.
He spun around and hurled Brenda against the plaster wall.
She hit the wall with a heavy thud and crumpled to the floor, gasping for breath.
Vernon saw his wife go down. Blinded by rage, he grabbed the heavy metal IV pole next to the bed and swung it toward the back of Daxton's head.
Before the pole could connect, one of the bodyguards stepped forward. He delivered a brutal kick to the back of Vernon's knee.
Vernon collapsed onto the floor, dropping the pole with a loud clatter.
Suddenly, a high-pitched, continuous alarm pierced the room.
The heart monitor next to the bed was flashing red. The green jagged lines on the screen were becoming erratic, dropping rapidly.
Charlotte's stomach dropped into a bottomless pit. She spun around and grabbed Eleanor's cold, frail hand.
Eleanor's chest was heaving. Her eyes were half-open, rolling back. The stress of the attack had pushed her failing heart over the edge.
Daxton slammed his fist onto the emergency call button on the wall.
Within seconds, a team of doctors and nurses rushed into the room, pushing a crash cart.
"Clear the room! Everyone out!" the lead doctor shouted.
Daxton looked at his bodyguards and jerked his chin toward the Guthries.
The guards grabbed Vernon, Brenda, and Ricky by their collars and dragged them out of the room like bags of garbage.
The heavy door was pulled shut, cutting off Vernon's screaming.
Charlotte backed away from the bed, pressing her spine against the cold wall. She covered her face with her hands. Her shoulders shook violently as the sound of the defibrillator charging filled the room.
