Chapter 3 - Daniel's Second Phone
Hospital security arrested Daniel outside room 814 at 3:19 a.m.
Vanessa Reed was found inside.
She was not critically ill.
She was not even receiving treatment.
She was dressed in designer jeans, a cream coat, and expensive boots.
On the bedside table sat the second missing dose.
Still sealed.
Daniel had placed it inside a portable refrigerator.
Beside it were two passports.
Twenty-eight thousand dollars in cash.
And a second phone.
When security officers entered, Daniel demanded to speak with Westbridge's chief executive officer.
When they told him police were coming, he laughed.
"You people don't understand what's happening."
Security supervisor Marcus Hall asked him what he meant.
Daniel refused to answer.
Vanessa screamed at him.
"You said they couldn't touch us!"
Daniel shouted back.
"Shut up."
That exchange was recorded.
By sunrise, it had become evidence.
Emily did not see Daniel when police escorted him out.
She refused.
Her world had narrowed to Lily's breathing.
At 6:22 a.m., Dr. Bennett finally said the words she had been afraid to hope for.
"She's stabilizing."
Emily closed her eyes.
"Will she live?"
"I think she has a real chance."
It wasn't a promise.
But it was enough.
Emily lowered her forehead to Lily's hand.
"Thank you."
Bennett looked toward the hallway.
"Don't thank Westbridge yet."
Emily raised her head.
"What does that mean?"
He pulled the visitor chair closer.
"I found something."
He placed a photocopy on the table.
It was an internal pharmacy transfer sheet.
Emily recognized Daniel's signature.
"He removed Lily's medication," Bennett said. "But according to this document, Daniel claimed it was being transferred to Riverside under an emergency compassionate-use protocol."
"Was it?"
"No."
"Then he forged it."
"Yes."
Emily studied the page.
There were two signatures.
Daniel's.
And another.
"Who is Dr. Adrian Cole?"
Bennett's expression darkened.
"That's the problem."
"What?"
"There is no Dr. Adrian Cole at Riverside."
Emily looked up.
"No doctor?"
"Not at Riverside. Not at Westbridge. Not licensed in this state."
"Daniel invented him?"
"Maybe."
The word maybe frightened her.
"What else?"
Bennett tapped the bottom of the form.
A six-digit code was printed beside the signature.
442817.
"What's that?"
"I've seen it before."
"Where?"
Bennett leaned back.
"Six months ago, we lost another restricted medication."
Emily stared.
"Lost?"
"It was officially documented as a refrigeration failure. Pharmacy destroyed the batch."
"Did they?"
Bennett looked toward Lily.
"I believed they did."
"And now?"
"Now I'm not sure."
Emily felt anger returning.
"Was Daniel involved?"
"I don't know."
"You worked with him."
"I worked with hundreds of people."
"Did you trust him?"
Bennett took several seconds to answer.
"Yes."
Emily understood.
That answer hurt him.
At 8:00 a.m., police detective Sarah Morales arrived.
She introduced herself quietly.
"I need to ask you some questions about Daniel."
Emily looked at Lily.
"Ask."
"Did your husband maintain multiple phones?"
"Not that I knew."
"Did he travel unexpectedly?"
"Sometimes conferences."
"Large withdrawals? New accounts? Cash?"
"No."
"Did he know Vanessa Reed?"
Emily's jaw tightened.
"Apparently better than I did."
Morales paused.
"We recovered messages from Daniel's second phone."
Emily looked at her.
"What kind of messages?"
"We haven't unlocked everything."
"But?"
"One conversation appears to involve the sale or transfer of pharmaceutical inventory."
Emily stared.
"This wasn't the first time."
"We don't know yet."
"Don't say that."
Morales said nothing.
Emily's voice lowered.
"My daughter almost died because he stole medicine."
"I know."
"Was she collateral damage?"
Morales looked toward Lily.
"We're trying to determine whether Lily was simply the victim of Daniel's actions."
"Simply?"
"Or whether someone expected her to be."
The room became very quiet.
Emily's face changed.
"What does that mean?"
Morales placed a photograph on the table.
It showed Daniel's second phone.
A message was visible on the screen.
Shipment L-8 available tonight.
Emily stared at the letter and number.
"What is L-8?"
Morales's voice was careful.
"We hoped you could tell us."
Emily looked toward her daughter.
Lily Carter.
Eight years old.
May you like
L.
Eight.
