"Mom… Please Help! Come Home Right Now!" My 10-Year-Old Daughter Called Me, Her Voice Trembling. I Rushed Home In Panic, Only To Find My Daughter And My Husband Lying Unconscious.

CLICK.

The hammer of Cole’s pistol fell, but no gunshot sounded.

The chamber was empty. He had expended his last round firing at Carter.

Before Cole could rack the slide or draw a secondary weapon, Detective Carter lunged from the floor like a wounded predator, tackling Cole around the waist and slamming him violently against the steel equipment tray.

Instruments, glass vials, and tray stands crashed to the concrete floor in a chaotic roar of metal and glass.

"Get out of here, Evelyn!" Carter roared, holding Cole in a headlock while blood poured down his own shoulder. "Get Daniel out!"

I didn't hesitate. I grabbed the emergency defibrillator unit mounted on the wall beside Daniel’s bed.

I turned the dial to maximum voltage, ripped open Daniel’s hospital gown, and slapped the heavy adhesive pads onto his bare chest.

The machine’s digital voice announced coldly: CHARGING... 200 JOULES. STAND CLEAR.

"Clear!" I yelled, pressing the shock button.

Daniel’s body violently arched off the bed as the electrical charge surged through his heart. He slammed back down onto the mattress.

The monitor beeped once: ...beep...

Then silence.

"Come on, Daniel!" I screamed, tears streaming down my face as I hit the recharge button. "Chloe needs you! I need you!"

CHARGING... 300 JOULES. STAND CLEAR.

"CLEAR!"

I slammed the button a second time.

A loud electrical snap echoed in the small room.

Daniel’s torso surged upward.

Beep... beep... beep...

The monitor stabilized! A weak, steady sinus rhythm slowly filled the screen!

"He's got a pulse!" I wept out loud, grabbing his limp hand and pressing it to my cheek.

Behind me, a loud groan echoed as Detective Carter successfully cuffed Victor Cole to a heavy structural support pipe on the wall. Cole lay on the floor, bleeding from his nose, glaring up at us with pure venom in his eyes.

"You think this changes anything?" Cole spat, spitting blood onto the white tiles. "Julian Vance has federal judges in his pocket. By tomorrow morning, you’ll all be framed for domestic terrorism and breaking and entering."

"Shut up," Carter panted, leaning heavily against the wall as he clamped his bleeding shoulder. He looked at me, his breath coming in ragged gasps. "Evelyn... get Daniel's gurney toward the service elevator. Marcus is waiting outside."

Just then, the main hospital intercom system cracked to life with a loud, piercing feedback noise.

A calm, cultured, and chillingly familiar male voice filled every corner of the facility.

It was Julian Vance—the CEO of Vanguard Bio-Tech.

"Attention security personnel and intruders," Vance’s voice echoed smoothly over the speakers. "We have experienced an unauthorized breach of our research wing. Facility lockdown Level 4 is now active. All automated exit doors are permanently sealed. Local authorities have been informed of an armed terrorist attack inside Blackwood."