Chapter 6 - The Ghost of Ten Years Past
The hospital hallway was quiet, save for the hum of the vending machines near the waiting area. Jax sat on a hard plastic chair, his bandaged hands resting between his knees as he stared down at the scuffed linoleum floor. The adrenaline had faded, leaving behind a dull, throbbing ache in every muscle of his body.
Ten years. He had spent ten long years in a maximum-security federal penitentiary taking the fall for financial crimes he never committed. Clara had promised him she would protect their assets, raise Chloe, and wait for him. Instead, she had used his silence as a weapon, building an empire on stolen funds while he rotted in a cell, holding onto the memory of his infant daughter as the only light in the dark.
A soft shuffling sound made him look up.
Standing a few feet away was Lily, still wearing her crumpled pink dress, clutching her toy stethoscope. Her mother, a tired-looking woman in nurse's scrubs, stood nervously behind her, holding a paper cup of water.
"Mister?" Lily whispered timidly, taking a small step closer.
Jax forced his face to soften, smoothing the harsh lines of his expression. He didn't want to frighten the little girl who had tried to save his daughter.
"Hey, Lily," Jax said, his voice raspy. "Thank you for what you did out there. You were braver than anyone else."
Lily walked right up to him and held out her toy stethoscope, pressing the plastic earpieces toward his chest. "You need to listen to your heart. It’s beating too fast, like a trapped bird."
Jax let out a humorless, dry chuckle, accepting the toy and holding it loosely. "It feels like it's breaking, kiddo."
Lily’s mother stepped forward, wringing her hands anxiously. "Mr. Miller, I'm so sorry to interrupt. I work the night shift here in pediatrics. I... I couldn't help overhearing what that woman said to you in the trauma room. And I saw what happened at the courthouse."
Jax narrowed his eyes, instantly alert. "What did you see?"
The nurse glanced nervously down the hallway before lowering her voice. "That woman—Clara Miller—she isn't just some wealthy executive. My husband used to work as an IT administrator for her holding firm a decade ago, right before the federal raid that sent you away."
Jax’s body went completely rigid. Every muscle locked into place. "Go on."
"He didn't go to prison because he blew the whistle," the nurse whispered, her eyes wide with fear. "He didn't go because Clara threatened to kill our family if he spoke up about who actually forged those wire transfer signatures. The signatures that put you behind bars, Mr. Miller."
Jax stood up slowly, towering over the nurse, his shadow swallowing the fluorescent light. "Are you telling me you know who signed my name?"
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Before the nurse could answer, the security doors at the end of the hallway burst open with a loud metallic crash, and four burly men in black suits marched straight toward them.
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