Chapter 5 - The Road to the Hospital
Evelyn left home shortly after dawn.
Richard did not offer to drive her to the hospital. He claimed he had an urgent meeting and promised to visit after the procedure.
Evelyn no longer expected him to keep promises.
Her driver had called in sick, so she took one of the company cars. Rain had begun falling, turning the streets silver beneath the morning lights.
As she drove, Maya called.
“We secured the financial servers,” Maya said. “Jonah is cooperating with the auditors.”
“Has Richard noticed?”
“Not yet.”
“What about the loan guarantees?”
“Worse than we thought. He used forged board approvals.”
Evelyn tightened her grip on the steering wheel.
“How much?”
“Nearly forty million.”
A traffic light changed ahead.
Evelyn pressed the brake.
The pedal felt wrong.
The car slowed, but not enough.
She moved carefully into the empty lane and pressed again. The vehicle continued forward.
“Maya,” Evelyn said, struggling to keep her voice steady. “Something is wrong with the car.”
“What do you mean?”
“The brakes.”
Rain struck the windshield harder.
Evelyn guided the car away from the crowded intersection. She remembered the service warning she had reported two days earlier. Richard had insisted the vehicle was safe and said the warning came from a faulty sensor.
Now the dashboard flashed red.
“Call emergency services,” Evelyn said.
Maya began speaking rapidly to someone nearby.
Evelyn focused on keeping the car away from pedestrians and heavier traffic. She managed to move toward a barrier near an empty construction area.
The impact came moments later.
There was no dramatic explosion, only a violent jolt, breaking glass and sudden darkness.
When Evelyn regained awareness, voices surrounded her.
Someone told her not to move.
Someone else said an ambulance was coming.
She tried to ask about the company documents stored in the trunk, but the words would not form clearly.
Then she heard a familiar voice.
Richard.
He had arrived before the ambulance left.
He stood several feet away, speaking to a police officer. His face showed concern, but his eyes remained strangely calm.
Evelyn tried to call his name.
Richard looked toward her.
For one second, their eyes met.
He did not move closer.
At the hospital, doctors postponed Evelyn’s scheduled procedure and treated the injuries from the crash. Her damaged leg required immediate surgery. The other leg had been badly strained, and several bones were fractured.
She remained unconscious through most of the night.
While Evelyn was in surgery, Richard entered her private office at Hartwell.
He told security that he needed her files to manage the company during her recovery.
He removed her laptop, several folders and a backup drive.
What he did not know was that Maya had already copied everything.
What he did not know was that Jonah had installed a security camera after Richard first attempted to access restricted financial records.
And what he did not know was that the company car had been inspected three days before the crash.
The inspection report showed a serious mechanical problem.
Richard had personally ordered the maintenance department to delay the repair.
His message read:
Do not take the car out of service. Evelyn needs it this week. Handle the repair afterward.
Whether Richard expected a crash or simply wanted to frighten her would later become a question for investigators.
But Evelyn knew one thing with certainty.
May you like
He had known the car was unsafe.
And he had let her drive it anyway.
