Chapter 3 - The Powerful Ally
Thomas was forcefully shoved out of the hospital's sliding glass doors into the freezing night air.
The officers removed his handcuffs but warned him that stepping back inside would result in a felony trespassing charge.
He stood on the wet pavement, shivering in his grocery apron while staring up at the lighted window of the pediatric wing.
Inside the hospital, Dr. Jenkins stood her ground outside Lily's recovery room.
She invoked a rare military trauma protocol, claiming the patient was under federal medical jurisdiction due to her own active-duty status.
Evelyn furiously paced the hallway, screaming that military protocols did not apply to civilian custody disputes.
The elevator doors at the end of the hall suddenly dinged and slid open with a metallic crash.
A tall, impeccably dressed man marched out, flanked by three heavily armed tactical police officers.
This was Richard, Evelyn's new fiancé and the most feared state prosecutor in the entire county.
Richard flashed his gold badge at Dr. Jenkins and demanded she step aside immediately.
He claimed that the hospital was actively harboring a victim of domestic abuse and interfering with a state investigation.
Dr. Jenkins refused to flinch, crossing her arms over her green surgical scrubs.
She informed the arrogant prosecutor that Lily's medical condition required absolute stability and zero stress.
Richard pulled a pen from his tailored suit and threatened to revoke Dr. Jenkins' medical license right there on the spot.
He yelled that nobody was above the law, especially not an arrogant army doctor playing hero.
As Richard aggressively pointed his finger in her face, Dr. Jenkins noticed something alarming on his wrist.
There was a distinct, deep, and incredibly fresh scratch marking his pale skin.
The surgeon's mind instantly flashed back to the operating room a few hours earlier.
She remembered cleaning dried blood from underneath Lily's tiny fingernails before the surgery began.
Dr. Jenkins realized with horrifying clarity that the blood under the child's nails perfectly matched the scratch on Richard's wrist.
She subtly shifted her weight, pretending to be intimidated by the tactical officers behind him.
She agreed to step away from the door, but insisted on performing one final check on Lily's intravenous lines.
Richard smirked, believing he had successfully bullied the doctor into total submission.
Dr. Jenkins slipped into the dark recovery room where Lily was sleeping peacefully under the heavy sedatives.
She quickly grabbed a sterile cotton swab and gently scraped the remaining residue from beneath Lily's fingernails.
She sealed the swab in a plastic evidence vial and shoved it deep into the pocket of her scrubs.
When she walked back into the hallway, Richard was already handing a transfer authorization form to the charge nurse.
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Richard announced that a private ambulance company would be arriving in ten minutes to transport Lily to a facility he personally controlled.
Dr. Jenkins realized that if Lily left this hospital, the little girl would never be seen alive again.
