Chapter 1 - The Golden Hour
The fluorescent lights of the corridor blurred overhead as Dr. Elias Thorne sprinted alongside the gurney. Clara Vance’s pale face was barely visible beneath the oxygen mask, but the monitor attached to her chest beeped with a frantic, irregular rhythm. She was fighting.
"I need a crash team in Trauma One, right now!" Elias roared as they burst through the double doors of Seattle General’s Emergency Department.
The ER attending, Dr. Evans, looked up from a clipboard, his eyes widening. "Elias? What the hell is a county M.E. doing bringing in a patient?"
"She was sent to my slab from Crestview Recovery. Pronounced dead at 4:00 AM. She is very much alive, Evans, and someone intentionally stopped her heart."
Evans didn't waste time asking questions. He barked orders, and within seconds, Clara was surrounded by nurses cutting away her damp clothes, inserting IV lines, and pushing epinephrine. Elias backed away, pulling off his blood-stained gloves, his mind racing.
He felt a heavy weight in his scrub pocket. The silver cufflink. The smashed cell phone.
Before he could process his next move, the ER doors slid open with a violent hiss. A man in a bespoke Italian suit rushed in, his face a perfect mask of manufactured grief. It was Julian Sterling. Behind him flanked two men who looked less like lawyers and more like hired muscle.
"Where is she?" Julian demanded, his voice echoing in the chaotic room. He locked eyes with the triage nurse. "I was told there was a miracle. I am Julian Sterling, her fiancé. Where is Clara?"
Elias stepped directly into Julian’s path, crossing his arms.
"She's in critical condition, Mr. Sterling," Elias said, his voice dropping an octave. "And as of right now, she is a John Doe in the system. No visitors."
Julian’s eyes narrowed, the grieving fiancé act slipping for a fraction of a second to reveal something cold and reptilian beneath. "I have medical power of attorney. You are a morgue attendant. Step aside."
"Actually," Elias replied, leaning in so only Julian could hear. "I'm a forensic pathologist. And until her toxicology report comes back, this is an active attempted homicide investigation. If you take one more step toward Trauma One, I will have security arrest you for tampering with a crime scene."
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Julian stared at him, his jaw clenching. He smoothed his tie, the mask returning. "I will be calling the hospital administrator. And the police chief. You've made a grave mistake, doctor."
As Julian turned on his heel and walked out, Elias pulled out his own phone and dialed his assistant, Sarah, back at the morgue. "Sarah. Take Clara's blood samples from the intake kit. Hide them. Do not log them into the main system. We have a rat in the house."
