The Medical Examiner Was Struck by the Girl’s Beauty Before the Autopsy… Then His First Cut Revealed Something Impossible.

By 3:00 AM, the hospital was no longer safe. Julian’s father, Archibald Sterling, had the police commissioner on speed dial. Reynolds received a text warning him that a warrant for his suspension was being drafted.

"We have to move her," Reynolds said, pacing the room. "If she stays here, she'll be dead by breakfast, and we'll be in handcuffs."

Elias nodded. He disconnected Clara’s monitors, swapping them out with a dummy feed so the nurses' station wouldn't trigger an alarm. He dressed her in oversized scrubs and a surgical cap, hiding her blonde hair.

"Can you walk?" Elias asked her.

"I have to," Clara whispered, her eyes hardening with sudden resolve.

They sneaked her down the service stairwell, the cold concrete echoing with their hurried footsteps. As they reached the basement loading dock, a black SUV suddenly tore around the corner, its headlights blinding them.

Two armed men stepped out. Not hospital security. Mercenaries.

"Get her in my car!" Reynolds shouted, drawing his weapon and firing a warning shot into the SUV’s grill.

Elias threw Clara into the back seat of Reynolds' beat-up sedan just as the mercenaries returned fire. The back windshield shattered, raining safety glass over them. Reynolds threw the car into reverse, tires squealing against the pavement, and whipped out into the rainy Seattle night.

"Are you hit?" Elias yelled to Clara.