Chapter 8 - The Blackout
Backup power should have restored the system within seconds.
It did not.
The hallway filled with nurses.
Security doors failed open instead of closed.
Mae swore under her breath.
“That isn’t supposed to happen.”
Dr. Vale looked at Nathan.
“Where would your mother go?”
Nathan shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
Leah grabbed his sleeve.
“Think.”
He stared at her.
“Service elevator.”
Mae looked toward the rear corridor.
“That connects to the parking garage.”
Leah’s stomach dropped.
Someone had created a path out of the building.
Security officers began checking every newborn room.
Caleb remained beside Leah.
For now.
Then Simone appeared at the far end of the corridor.
She was wearing hospital slippers and carrying her phone.
“You need to see this.”
Mae tried to send her back.
Simone ignored her.
“I was filming when the power went out.”
She showed Leah the screen.
Minutes earlier, Simone had been recording a video near the vending machines.
In the background, Doreen stood beside a hospital administrator named Martin Kline.
Leah had seen his photograph in the maternity-wing brochure.
Kline handed Doreen an access badge.
Then he said something.
The audio was faint.
Simone increased the volume.
“Five minutes.”
Doreen replied.
“That’s all I need.”
Mae stared at the screen.
“The administrator gave her access.”
Simone nodded.
“And I have the whole thing.”
Kline appeared in the hallway before anyone could move.
He was breathing hard.
“This floor is being evacuated.”
Mae stepped in front of him.
“Why?”
“Electrical failure.”
“The backup system was manually overridden.”
Kline’s face tightened.
“That is being investigated.”
Simone held up her phone.
“Should we investigate this first?”
She played the video.
Kline turned pale.
Security officers moved closer.
He immediately raised his hands.
“You don’t understand.”
Leah almost laughed.
Everyone involved seemed to say that.
Mae asked.
“Why did you give Doreen Carver an access badge?”
Kline swallowed.
“She funded this wing.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“She threatened to destroy the hospital.”
“With what?”
Kline looked toward Nathan.
“Records.”
Nathan frowned.
“What records?”
Kline did not answer.
Then Dr. Rusk appeared behind him.
Her surgical coat was gone.
She carried a handbag.
Mae looked at it.
“You’re leaving?”
Dr. Rusk stopped.
“No.”
“You look like you’re leaving.”
Kline turned toward her.
“Celia.”
That one word was enough.
Dr. Rusk ran.
Security chased her.
Her handbag fell.
Documents spilled across the floor.
Leah saw her name.
Then Simone bent down and picked up a page.
At the top were the words.
EMERGENCY TEMPORARY GUARDIANSHIP PETITION.
Caleb’s name was already typed in.
Doreen was listed as proposed guardian.
Nathan’s signature appeared at the bottom.
Leah looked at her husband.
He went completely still.
May you like
“You signed this?”
His face answered before his mouth did.
