Chapter 13 - The Ambulance Trap
Westbridge canceled Lily's public transfer.
Only six people knew the new plan.
Emily.
Dr. Bennett.
Grant.
Morales.
One pediatric transport physician.
And the federal operations commander.
At 6:45 the following morning, an ambulance left Westbridge through the main entrance.
Inside was an empty pediatric stretcher.
A decoy.
Two unmarked federal vehicles followed at a distance.
Emily watched from an interior security room.
Her daughter remained upstairs under armed protection.
At 7:02 a.m., the decoy ambulance turned onto Grant Avenue.
At 7:05, a white utility truck pulled in front of it.
Another vehicle blocked the rear.
Four people in medical uniforms stepped out.
One approached the ambulance carrying official-looking transfer papers.
The federal team moved.
Within twenty seconds, the street erupted with commands.
"Federal agents!"
"Hands up!"
"Step away from the vehicle!"
Two suspects surrendered.
One ran.
Another reached inside his jacket and was tackled before he could pull anything free.
Emily watched the live feed without blinking.
Grant stood beside her.
"They came."
Emily's voice was hollow.
"They actually came."
One captured suspect was Rachel Mercer.
The fake nurse.
Emily stared at her face.
The woman who had entered Lily's ICU.
The woman who had poisoned her child.
Rachel did not look frightened.
She looked disappointed.
When officers pushed her against the vehicle, she said something.
The microphone caught it.
"You're too late."
Emily turned toward Grant.
"What does that mean?"
Grant grabbed his radio.
"Check Lily. Now."
The security room door burst open.
Dr. Bennett entered.
"She's fine."
Emily exhaled.
"Then what did Mercer mean?"
No one knew.
Until the hospital alarm sounded.
Not Lily's monitor.
The entire building.
Fire doors slammed shut.
A computerized voice announced a network security emergency.
Every electronic chart screen went black.
Pharmacy access terminals shut down.
Elevators stopped.
Then a message appeared across the hospital system.
DATA INTEGRITY FAILURE.
Grant swore.
Emily stared.
"What happened?"
"They're wiping records."
The federal cyber team raced toward the server rooms.
Backup systems came online.
But one database had already been breached.
Pediatric archives.
Emily ran toward Lily's floor.
Grant followed.
"Emily."
"My daughter."
"She's protected."
"That's what everyone keeps saying."
They reached the ICU.
Lily was safe.
Armed agents stood at both entrances.
Emily rushed to her bed.
Lily smiled weakly.
"Mom."
Emily held her.
"I'm here."
Over Lily's shoulder, Emily saw Dr. Bennett staring at a computer terminal.
His face had gone pale.
"What?"
He turned.
"Lily's chart is gone."
"What do you mean gone?"
"Deleted."
"Restore it."
"They're trying."
"Backups."
"Also targeted."
Grant looked at him.
"Why erase the chart after the kidnapping attempt failed?"
Bennett's expression changed.
"Maybe the chart wasn't evidence."
Emily looked at him.
"What?"
"Maybe it contained something they don't want us to know."
Before anyone could speak, the printer beside the nurses' station suddenly activated.
A single sheet emerged.
No one had sent a print job.
Grant approached carefully.
On the page was one sentence.
E-9 survived because Robert Bennett betrayed us.
L-8 will not receive the same mercy.
Emily stared at her father's name.
Then another line printed beneath it.
Ask Michael Bennett what happened in 1991.
Every person in the room turned toward Dr. Bennett.
Emily's face changed.
"Michael?"
Dr. Bennett did not speak.
May you like
And in his silence, Emily found the answer she feared most.
He knew.
