DO YOU WANT TO TRY?

Mara had never seen the person’s face.

She remembered only a dark overcoat, polished shoes, and a ring bearing the Vale family crest.

Ethan wore no such ring.

Neither did Amelia.

The ring had belonged to Richard Vale, Ethan’s father, and after Richard’s death it had been placed inside the family vault.

Only Celeste had access.

Celeste denied removing it.

Harrow refused to answer further questions without an attorney.

Detective Ortiz arrested him for interfering with the investigation and suspected destruction of medical records, but she warned Claire that he might be released quickly.

Ethan wanted Claire to return home.

Claire insisted on going to the hospital.

Room 614 could be cleared before morning.

Mara knew an older service entrance not controlled by the hospital’s main security system. Detective Ortiz arranged a warrant while Ethan contacted Amelia, who held a temporary seat on the foundation board and could authorize entry to foundation-owned sections of the hospital.

Celeste demanded to accompany them.

“No,” Ethan said.

“I built half that wing.”

“And you ignored what happened inside it.”

Celeste accepted the accusation without defending herself.

Claire expected satisfaction.

Instead, she saw a woman realizing that authority had not made her powerful enough to control the people she had trusted.

At Vale Memorial, the research wing appeared abandoned. Plastic sheets covered equipment. Dust lay across the floor, except for a narrow path leading toward Room 614.

Someone had visited recently.

The electronic lock did not respond to Amelia’s authorization card.

Mara used a manual emergency key hidden behind a wall panel.

Inside, the room was smaller than Claire expected. Metal cabinets lined one wall. Three computer terminals occupied the center. A scanner stood beside shelves of numbered storage boxes.

Most of the shelves were empty.

Ethan examined the computers.

The drives had been removed.

Detective Ortiz searched the cabinets and found shredded paper, blank consent forms, and labels bearing Northstar’s logo.

Claire rolled toward the final cabinet.

It was locked.

A small scratch crossed its handle. Claire recognized it from the photograph taken in the hospital corridor. Mara had been holding a narrow metal tool when Harrow grabbed her arm.

“You were trying to open this cabinet,” Claire said.

Mara nodded.

Harrow had stopped her before she succeeded.

Detective Ortiz forced the lock.

Inside were sixteen patient files.

Each folder contained two sets of records.

The first set documented injuries, recommended treatment, and evidence of potential recovery.

The second set described permanent disability, limited rehabilitation, and the use of Northstar stabilization components.

Claire’s file was number fifteen.

The authorization page carried her signature.

It was a forgery.

Patient number one had entered the program eight years earlier.

Claire examined the name.

“Daniel Mercer.”

Ethan moved beside her.

Mercer had been a foundation accountant who died after publicly accusing the hospital of misusing charitable funds.

His death had been ruled an accident.

The other patients came from different backgrounds, but each had some connection to the Vale Foundation. A nurse. A contractor. A journalist. A former board member. A clinic director.

All had been injured shortly after discovering or questioning financial irregularities.

Not all had survived.

Mara covered her mouth.

“This was never a medical trial.”

“No,” Claire said. “It was a system.”

Detective Ortiz photographed every page.

Ethan opened the final folder.

Patient sixteen had not yet been admitted.

The file contained only a name, a due date, and a printed copy of a prenatal scan.

CLAIRE VALE’S UNBORN CHILD.

Claire’s hands went cold.

Beneath the scan was a Northstar research code and a handwritten instruction.