Chapter 8 - THE HOSPITAL LOCKDOWN.
We reached St. Matthew’s Hospital at 1:17 in the morning.
Security had already locked down the sanitation-control wing.
The hospital administrator met us near the emergency entrance.
“Natalie used her Apex credentials to enter the building.”
“She disabled two monitoring alarms.”
“Is anyone in danger?” I asked.
“Not yet.”
“But an operating-room sterilization cycle was interrupted.”
“Six surgeries are scheduled at dawn.”
I called Apex’s emergency response team.
Within minutes, supervisors began inspecting every affected room.
David arrived wearing hospital scrubs.
Claire was with him.
“I heard the lockdown alert,” he said.
“What can I do?”
“Help identify the procedures that cannot be delayed.”
He nodded and ran toward the surgical floor.
Claire stayed beside me.
“You trust him after tonight?”
“This is not about family.”
“This is about patients.”
For the next three hours, we worked without stopping.
I crawled behind equipment to check disinfectant lines.
I examined filters.
I reviewed chemical logs.
The expensive coat I had worn to Thanksgiving became stained with grease and cleaning solution.
Nobody in the hospital cared that I was a CEO.
They cared that I knew how to keep people safe.
At 4:26, our team confirmed that the operating rooms had not been contaminated.
The interrupted cycle appeared to be a distraction.
“What was Natalie really doing?” Claire asked.
Marcus approached with a tablet.
“She accessed the hospital’s contract database.”
“She uploaded copies of forged Apex agreements.”
If the documents were accepted as authentic, they could make it appear that I had overcharged hospitals during emergency outbreaks.
The scandal would destroy my company and possibly lead to criminal charges.
“Can we prove they are false?” I asked.
Marcus hesitated.
“The electronic signatures match yours.”
“Someone cloned your credentials.”
My father appeared at the end of the hallway.
He had followed us to the hospital.
“I know where she learned to do it.”
He handed me an old metal key.
“Your first Apex records are still stored in the warehouse on Fulton Street.”
“Natalie has been using it for months.”
I stared at him.
“How do you know?”
“Because I gave her the key.”
Before I could answer, the hospital lights flickered.
A fire alarm began screaming.
May you like
Smoke poured from the records room.
And somewhere inside the confusion, Natalie disappeared.
