Chapter 3 - The Night in Question
The printer continued to vomit the forged documents onto the sterile floor.
Cole snatched the papers from my trembling hands and scanned the medical codes.
His eyes widened in absolute horror as he read the fabricated prescriptions.
Whoever had hacked his credentials had just effectively ended his medical career.
The synthetic voice on the intercom laughed, a metallic sound that echoed off the walls.
The voice told us we had exactly ten minutes to confess our sins before the police arrived.
Cole threw the papers onto the desk and turned to face me.
He demanded to know exactly what I saw outside his apartment two months ago.
He realized that our entire breakup had been carefully orchestrated by the person speaking through the speaker.
I took a shaky breath, finally speaking the words that had haunted my nightmares.
I told him I had gone back to his apartment to surprise him with dinner.
I stood on the sidewalk in the pouring rain, holding a paper bag from his favorite restaurant.
Through the large glass windows of his living room, I saw him standing in the dark.
He was passionately kissing a tall woman wearing a striking red trench coat.
I told him I dropped the food in the gutter and ran away because my heart had shattered.
Cole stared at me, his expression shifting from confusion to devastating heartbreak.
He stepped closer and gently held both of my shoulders.
He swore to me that he had never been inside his apartment that night.
He pulled up his digital hospital log on his smart watch.
He proved that he had been scrubbed into a twelve-hour emergency thoracic surgery during that exact timeframe.
He told me that the man in the window was an imposter, hired to destroy our relationship.
The reality of the manipulation crashed over me like a tidal wave.
I had thrown away the love of my life because of a beautifully staged lie.
Before I could apologize, the shrill, deafening screech of the hospital fire alarm blared through the room.
The heavy magnetic lock on the door automatically disengaged with a loud click.
Cole grabbed my hand and we sprinted out into the chaotic, flashing hallway.
We ran directly toward the lobby where I had left my mother sitting.
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The waiting room was completely empty, and her purse was gone.
Lying perfectly centered on her abandoned chair was a single red trench coat.
