Chapter 3 - The Appointment She Never Made
Dr. Patel immediately canceled the induction order.
She placed the medication inside an evidence bag.
Raymond stood at the foot of Emily’s bed while legal counsel reviewed the digital record.
The appointment confirmation had been sent to an email address Emily did not recognize.
The electronic consent had been signed from a computer inside the Whitmore administrative suite.
Preston’s office was located there.
“So this was planned,” Emily said.
Raymond did not soften the truth.
“Yes.”
Dr. Patel adjusted the fetal monitor.
“The baby’s heart rate is beginning to stabilize.”
“That is good news.”
“But the kick caused enough trauma that I want you observed overnight.”
Emily nodded.
“Do whatever keeps him safe.”
Outside the room, Vanessa was shouting at security.
“You are treating me like a criminal.”
“You assaulted a pregnant patient,” the director of nursing replied.
“You are a criminal suspect.”
Preston demanded access to Emily.
Raymond stepped into the hallway.
“You will not see her until she asks for you.”
“She is my wife.”
“That phrase does not grant ownership.”
Preston lowered his voice.
“You are interfering with my marriage.”
“I am protecting my family.”
“Something you failed to do.”
The accusation landed.
Preston’s face tightened.
Then he made a mistake.
He glanced toward the wall clock.
Only once.
But Raymond noticed.
“What happens at six o’clock?” Raymond asked.
“Nothing.”
Raymond looked at legal counsel.
“Check every scheduled board filing.”
The answer came ten minutes later.
At six o’clock, the Saint Claire Medical Trust was scheduled to vote on a restructuring proposal.
The plan would transfer management authority for the hospital network to Whitmore Health Partners for twenty years.
Preston’s family owned Whitmore Health Partners.
The transfer required Emily’s consent.
Her dead mother, Elizabeth Saint Claire, had left Emily thirty-one percent of the trust.
Preston claimed Emily signed the consent three days earlier.
Emily had signed nothing.
Raymond’s attorney displayed the digital form.
The signature looked almost perfect.
Only one detail was wrong.
Emily always included a small loop beneath the final letter of her name.
The forged signature did not.
Raymond looked through the glass wall toward Preston.
“The induction was not only about taking her baby.”
“They needed her under sedation before the board vote.”
Emily’s hand moved protectively over her stomach.
“What happens if I am declared mentally unstable?”
Raymond’s attorney answered.
“Under the temporary marital proxy your husband filed last month, Preston would vote your trust shares.”
Emily stared at the man she had married.
May you like
He had not brought Vanessa to the hospital by accident.
He had brought her to help trigger the psychiatric hold.
