Chapter 3 - The Broken Paper TrailIn the DarkBy 8:30 p.m., St. Vincent Medical Center was crawling with local police.
Audrey was back in her hospital bed, an IV line dripping fluid into her arm, a monitor strapped tightly around her belly. Her husband, Ben, had finally arrived. He was still wearing his work boots and a dusty jacket, his face pale with worry as he sat on the edge of her mattress, holding her hand like a lifeline.
"You're supposed to be resting," Ben murmured, his voice thick with emotion as he brushed a stray lock of hair from her sweat-dampened forehead. "You're thirty-five weeks, Auds. You can't fight the world's monsters right now."
"He was in the room with that boy, Ben," Audrey whispered, her eyes fixed on the muted television screen on the wall. "He looked at Caleb like he owned him. If I hadn't stepped into that doorway..."
"I know," Ben said softly, kissing the back of her hand. "I know who you are, Audrey. It’s why I love you. But right now, our daughter is trying to come early because your blood pressure is through the roof. Let the cops do their job."
A knock sounded at the open door.
Detective Marcus Cole stepped inside. He was a weary-looking man in his late fifties, wearing a crumpled trench coat, holding a small notepad.
"Mrs. Mercer?" Cole asked. "I'm lead on the trespass call. I spoke with the Rowan family, and I spoke with security."
"Did you find him?" Audrey asked immediately, half-rising from her pillows.
Detective Cole shook his head slowly. "He slipped out through the basement loading docks. He used a stolen master keycard that belonged to a maintenance worker who went on leave last week. He knew the blind spots in the security camera grid."
Audrey’s hands clenched into the bedsheets. "He didn't just stumble into this hospital. He had access."
"We checked the pediatric system," Cole continued, flipping a page in his notebook. "Arthur Vance—or Wells—was never employed here. But someone logged into the patient intake database at 5:15 p.m. using an administrator's credentials from a terminal in the basement medical records room. He searched specifically for pediatric respiratory admissions."
"He was hunting," Audrey said, the terrifying reality settling over her. "He knew Caleb was brought in."
"Or he’s been tracking the family," Cole corrected grimly. "Either way, Mrs. Mercer, we have officers stationed at the Rowan boy's door now. He’s safe. You need to focus on your own delivery."
"Detective," Audrey called out as he turned to leave. "Did you check the old facility files? The ones from upstate?"
Cole paused in the doorway, giving her a long, searching look. "The department that handled that case three years ago was Child Protective Services, District 4. The files were sealed after Vance vanished."
District 4.
Audrey felt her breath catch. District 4 was the exact same administrative district where she had worked. It was the same district that had handled the Hannah Price investigation.
"It’s the same network," Audrey whispered after the detective left.
Ben looked at her, his brow furrowed with deep concern. "Auds, what are you talking about?"
"The reason Vance was never caught three years ago," Audrey said, her mind racing, connecting dots that had remained hidden in the dark for years. "The reason he had a master keycard and access to closed intake logs today. He isn't working alone. Someone inside the state system... someone inside the medical oversight board has been protecting him."
A sharp, violent contraction seized her, far stronger than any before. Audrey gasped, her fingers digging into Ben’s hand with crushing force.
The monitor beside the bed began to beep rapidly. The fetal heart rate line took a sudden, alarming dip.
May you like
The door flew open, and a doctor accompanied by Brooke Ellis rushed into the room.
"Her vitals are dropping!" Brooke shouted. "The baby is in distress! We need an emergency C-section, right now!"
Related Stories
