Chapter 6 The Woman in the Security Footage
Emily gripped the edge of the cafeteria table until her knuckles turned white.
The image of Michael's silver Mercedes flashed through her mind.
Her father slowly stood.
"We have to tell the investigator."
Emily nodded.
"But we only know he owns a car like that."
"We don't know he was driving it."
Daniel Pierce's voice remained steady through the phone.
"Ms. Carter, we don't want assumptions."
"We want facts."
"If you recognize the vehicle, that's helpful."
"But let us confirm everything."
"I understand."
"We'll need to speak with you tomorrow morning."
"I'll be there."
The call ended.
For several seconds neither Emily nor her father spoke.
Finally he whispered, "Claire is going to be devastated."
Emily looked toward the pediatric wing.
"My first responsibility is to those children."
"If Michael is innocent, the investigation will prove it."
"And if he isn't..."
She never finished the sentence.
Her father already understood.
Early the next morning, the hospital remained unusually quiet.
Guardian crews continued removing contaminated materials while state inspectors arrived one after another.
Television vans had begun parking outside.
News of the emergency was spreading.
Marcus walked toward Emily carrying another folder.
"The media is asking for interviews."
"No interviews."
"They're saying Guardian prevented a larger disaster."
Emily shook her head.
"The story isn't about us."
"It's about keeping patients safe."
Marcus smiled.
"You always say that."
"Because it's true."
A nurse hurried into the hallway.
"Ms. Carter."
"The Bennett family wants to see you."
Emily entered Noah's temporary room.
His mother immediately stood.
Without saying a word, she wrapped Emily in a tight hug.
"I don't know how to thank you."
Emily gently smiled.
"You don't have to."
"You protected my son."
"I kept a promise."
The woman looked confused.
"What promise?"
Emily glanced toward Noah, who was sleeping peacefully.
"One I made a long time ago."
Noah's mother reached into her purse.
"I found something online last night."
She held up her phone.
It displayed the Business Monthly article from Thanksgiving dinner.
"I had no idea you owned Guardian."
Emily laughed softly.
"Most people don't."
The woman shook her head.
"They should."
"You deserve recognition."
Emily looked around the hospital room.
"The nurses deserve recognition."
"The doctors deserve recognition."
"My team deserves recognition."
"I just happen to lead them."
Outside the room, applause suddenly echoed through the hallway.
Emily stepped outside in surprise.
Nearly every nurse on the pediatric floor had gathered together.
Several doctors stood beside them.
One elderly volunteer slowly began clapping.
Then another.
Within seconds the entire hallway filled with applause.
Emily froze.
She hated attention.
Dr. Natalie Brooks stepped forward.
"This isn't for the company."
She smiled warmly.
"It's for the woman who refused to leave until every child was safe."
The applause grew louder.
Several nurses wiped away tears.
Marcus quietly looked away, pretending to study paperwork.
He had seen this happen before.
Emily slowly lowered her head.
"Thank you."
"I was only doing my job."
An older pediatrician laughed.
"No."
"You were doing far more than that."
Before anyone could say another word, Daniel Pierce arrived with two investigators.
He approached Emily.
"We've identified the driver."
Emily's heartbeat quickened.
"So it was Michael?"
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
Relief flooded through her body for only a second.
"Then who?"
Daniel opened a folder.
"The vehicle belongs to Michael Lawson."
Emily frowned.
"But..."
"It wasn't Michael driving."
He slid a surveillance photograph across the table.
The face was finally visible.
Emily stared at it.
Her father looked over her shoulder.
The color drained from his face.
"No..."
he whispered.
"That's impossible."
Emily could barely breathe.
Standing beside the silver Mercedes was someone she recognized instantly.
Not Michael.
Not Claire.
Not anyone connected to the hospital.
It was her mother.
Susan Carter.
She wore the same dark winter coat she had worn at Thanksgiving dinner.
The timestamp showed she had entered Children's Memorial almost two hours before the ceiling collapsed.
Daniel watched Emily carefully.
"Do you recognize her?"
Emily's voice almost disappeared.
"Yes."
"She's my mother."
The hallway became completely silent.
Even the nurses stopped talking.
Daniel closed the folder.
"We believe your mother removed maintenance records before emergency crews arrived."
Emily shook her head.
"That doesn't make sense."
"She has nothing to do with the hospital."
"Not officially."
Daniel reached into another folder.
"Which is why we're trying to understand why she visited three different Westbridge construction sites during the last six months."
Emily looked at her father.
He appeared more shocked than she was.
"I swear..."
he whispered.
"I never knew."
Daniel continued.
"We also discovered something else."
He handed Emily another document.
It was a bank transfer.
Three payments.
Each worth one hundred thousand dollars.
Transferred from Westbridge Medical Facilities.
To Susan Carter.
Emily read the dates twice.
The first payment had been made almost a year earlier.
"What was she being paid for?"
Daniel answered quietly.
"We don't know yet."
"But whatever this is..."
"It goes far beyond hospital maintenance."
Emily felt the room begin to spin.
Everything she had believed about her mother's cruelty suddenly seemed too small.
Too simple.
This was something else.
Something planned.
Something hidden.
Her father slowly sat down in the nearest chair.
His hands trembled uncontrollably.
"I've been married to her for thirty seven years."
His voice cracked.
"And I don't know who she is anymore."
Just then Claire came running down the hallway.
Her eyes were swollen from crying.
She stopped the moment she saw everyone's faces.
"What happened?"
Nobody answered.
She looked at Emily.
Then at their father.
Finally Daniel placed the surveillance photo into her hands.
Claire stared at it.
For several seconds she didn't react.
Then she whispered one sentence that made every person in the hallway look at her.
"I knew she was hiding something..."
Emily looked up sharply.
May you like
Claire slowly closed her eyes.
"But I never imagined it was this."
