Chapter 4 - The Psychiatric Trap
My blood ran completely cold at the sound of Lorraine's vicious and terrifying words.
I threw myself into my car and sped back toward the hospital as fast as the engine would go.
I prayed that Lorraine was just bluffing to distract me from the financial evidence I held.
When I reached Maya's hospital wing, her bed was completely empty and freshly made.
The sheets were stripped clean, and her personal belongings were entirely gone from the room.
I ran to the nurse's station and demanded to know where my daughter had been taken.
The head nurse looked at her computer screen and frowned deeply at the digital chart.
"Her husband authorized a medical transfer to the Crestview Psychiatric Facility twenty minutes ago," the nurse said.
"She was violently assaulted, she does not need a psychiatric facility!" I screamed in panic.
The nurse lowered her voice and looked around nervously before answering me.
"Dr. Evans signed off on the transfer, citing severe postpartum psychosis and a risk of self-harm," she whispered.
I realized Ethan had paid a corrupt doctor to declare Maya legally incompetent and unstable.
If she was declared insane, Ethan would gain permanent medical and financial power of attorney over her life.
He could drain the loan money, collect the insurance, and keep Maya locked away forever without question.
I grabbed my secure folder of evidence and ran as fast as I could back to my car.
Crestview was a private, highly secured facility located in the isolated, wooded hills outside the city.
I drove up the winding mountain road, my hands gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white.
I pulled up to the heavy iron gates and buzzed the electronic intercom system.
A security guard demanded my name and the specific purpose of my visit.
"I am Nora Hayes, and I am here to see my daughter, Maya Whitman," I stated firmly.
"Mrs. Whitman is not permitted to have any visitors by order of her husband," the guard replied mechanically.
I backed my car up and parked it directly across the electronic gates, completely blocking the entrance.
I pulled out my phone and dialed the direct cell number of the state attorney general.
Marcus had been my demanding boss for fifteen years, and he owed me a massive professional favor.
"Nora, it has certainly been a long time," Marcus answered with a warm, familiar tone.
I quickly explained the forgery, the offshore accounts, and the highly illegal psychiatric hold.
Marcus promised to dispatch a specialized team of state troopers to the facility immediately.
While I anxiously waited, the heavy iron gates slowly clicked open.
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Ethan walked out toward my car, accompanied by a tall man wearing a local police uniform.
I realized with absolute horror that the police officer was Ethan's older brother, David.
