Chapter 3 - The Secret Compartment
The emergency room spun around me as I stared blankly at the deadly weapon in the plastic bag.
Ethan was a mild-mannered corporate manager who hated violent movies and spent his weekends planting tomatoes in our backyard.
There was absolutely no way he owned an illegal firearm or possessed that kind of untraceable cash.
"You have the wrong man," I told Detective Vance with absolute, unwavering certainty.
"I wish I did, Dr. Bennett, but his fingerprints are already confirmed on the duffel bag," Vance replied quietly.
He asked me not to leave the hospital premises and promised to update me as soon as they processed the crashed car further.
Once the detective left, I realized Mia had completely vanished from the waiting area during the commotion.
I sprinted toward the secure trauma holding room where the nurses had placed Ethan's ruined, blood-soaked clothing in a plastic bin.
I dug through his ruined suit jacket, desperate to find anything that could explain this nightmare.
My fingers brushed against a thick, unnatural seam sewn into the inner lining of his breast pocket.
I grabbed a pair of surgical scissors from a nearby tray and carefully sliced the expensive fabric open.
A small, encrypted black flash drive slipped out of the lining and clattered onto the linoleum floor.
I scooped it up, rushed to the nearest vacant doctor's lounge, and plugged the device into a secure hospital computer.
A password prompt instantly flashed across the screen in bold red letters.
I tried his birthday, our anniversary, and his mother's maiden name, but every attempt resulted in an angry error message.
With one final attempt remaining before the drive locked permanently, I typed in the name of our childhood dog.
The screen flickered green, unlocking a massive directory containing hundreds of highly classified medical billing records.
Every single file detailed a massive, multi-million dollar embezzlement ring operating directly out of this very hospital.
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Suddenly, a cold, sharp object pressed firmly against the back of my neck.
"You really shouldn't have found that, Dr. Bennett," Mia whispered directly into my ear.
