Chapter 6 - The Bloodline Match
At six o'clock the following morning, the sun broke through the Chicago clouds, casting a pale golden light across the high-rise buildings of the city.
Inside the private pediatric surgical suite at Chicago Children's Hospital, Dr. Harrison—a distinguished specialist in his fifties—reviewed the glowing digital monitors.
Ryan sat on the edge of the examination bed, wearing a clean white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his broad forearms, his dark suit jacket draped over a chair. Beside him stood Grace, holding three-year-old Ethan in her arms.
Dr. Harrison pulled off his surgical gloves and looked up at Ryan with a broad, relieved smile.
"The blood compatibility test is a one-hundred-percent match, Mr. Whitmore," Dr. Harrison announced. "We can proceed with the non-invasive cell transfusion for Ethan tomorrow morning. His prognosis is exceptional."
Grace let out a long, shuddering sob of relief, burying her face into Ethan's neck. "Thank God... oh, thank God..."
Ryan stood up, stepping forward to pull both Grace and Ethan into his broad, protective embrace. He kissed the top of Grace's brown hair, holding his son tightly against his chest, feeling a deep, profound peace settle over his heart.
Ethan wrapped his small arms around Ryan's neck, leaning his head against his father's broad shoulder. "Are you staying with us now, Daddy?"
The word Daddy struck Ryan’s heart like a bolt of lightning. Tears welled in his gray-blue eyes as he tightened his grip around the little boy.
"I am never leaving you, Ethan," Ryan promised softly into his son's ear. "Ever."
Suddenly, the heavy glass doors of the private medical wing swung open.
Walking down the corridor accompanied by two corporate security guards was Arthur Vance—the sixty-five-year-old chairman of the Whitmore Enterprises board. Wearing a expensive dark suit, Vance carried an air of supreme, arrogant authority as he stepped into the room.
"Ryan," Vance said smoothly, resting his hands on his silver cane. "I heard you disrupted a private medical facility this morning. I must remind you that corporate policy strictly regulates the use of family trust medical assets."
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Ryan slowly set Ethan down beside Grace, stepping between his family and the corporate chairman. His towering frame radiated a cold, terrifying fury that made Vance’s security guards take an immediate step back.
"You're off the board, Arthur," Ryan said, his voice dropping into a low, lethal baritone.
