Chapter 5 - The Voice on the Line

I held my breath, terrified that the slightest sound would give away my identity.

"Gary?" the woman asked, her cruel laughter fading into annoyed impatience.

"You were supposed to call me the second the ambulance left the house," she snapped.

My mind raced as I tried to place the familiar, slightly raspy tone of her voice.

It was a voice I had heard very recently, but I could not connect it to a specific face.

"If you botched the dosage again, I am not covering for you at the hospital," the woman threatened.

The word "hospital" hit me like a physical blow to the chest.

I suddenly remembered exactly where I had heard that sharp, impatient voice before.

It was the voice of Nurse Collins, the primary care nurse who had admitted Lily into the pediatric ICU just hours ago.

Gary's accomplice was actively working inside the exact same hospital where my family was completely vulnerable.

I ended the call immediately and shoved the burner phone deep into my coat pocket.

I sprinted out of the house, ignoring the freezing winter wind as I jumped back into my SUV.

I broke every single speed limit driving back to the hospital, my tires screeching around the icy corners.

Nurse Collins had complete, unrestricted access to both Mark's ventilator and Lily's intravenous medication.

She could easily finish the job Gary had started without raising any suspicion from the medical staff.

I abandoned my car near the emergency room entrance and ran through the sliding glass doors.

I bypassed the security desk completely and sprinted toward the elevator banks.

I hit the button for the pediatric floor, watching the digital numbers climb with agonizing slowness.

When the doors finally chimed open, I sprinted down the sterile white hallway toward Lily's room.

I burst through the heavy wooden door, completely out of breath and ready to fight for my daughter's life.

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But the hospital bed was entirely empty.

The heart monitor was turned off, the IV stand was pushed aside, and my nine-year-old daughter was gone.