Chapter 9 - THE HOSPITAL THAT LIEDBy 5:42 p.m., Sofia had become the subject of an internal hospital investigation.
Her employee badge had been suspended.
Security had been instructed to contact police if she returned.
And Julien Varenne had vanished.
Sofia parked beneath the awning of a closed gas station.
Elise sat beside her.
The dogs rested quietly in the back.
For several minutes, Sofia stared at her phone.
She had worked at St. Catherine's for four years.
She had held the hands of dying patients.
She had stayed late to comfort frightened families.
She had missed birthdays, holidays, and countless nights of sleep because someone needed help.
Now the hospital believed she had abducted a patient.
Her own father.
“I have to go back,” she said.
Elise shook her head.
“Adrian wants you there.”
“Then what am I supposed to do?”
“Find someone who believes you.”
Sofia thought of Dr. Reed.
He had sounded frightened.
But he had called.
That meant something.
She dialed his number again.
He answered on the second ring.
“Sofia?”
“I didn't take my father.”
“I know.”
She closed her eyes.
“Then why did you tell me security was looking for me?”
“Because you needed to know.”
Sofia took a breath.
“Can you help?”
A pause.
Then:
“Where are you?”
“I can't tell you yet.”
“I understand.”
His voice softened.
“Sofia, I've been reviewing your father's records. Something doesn't make sense.”
“What?”
“The medication listed in his transfer chart was never ordered by his treating team.”
Sofia felt a chill.
“What medication?”
“A sedative. Enough to make him difficult to awaken.”
“Who ordered it?”
“That's the problem. The order came from a physician whose credentials were deactivated twelve years ago.”
Sofia stared at Elise.
“What physician?”
Dr. Reed hesitated.
“Dr. Nathaniel Cross.”
Elise went pale.
Sofia noticed immediately.
“You know him?”
Elise nodded slowly.
“He ran one of Meridian's research facilities.”
Dr. Reed continued.
“Sofia, there's more. I checked the archived department records. Dr. Cross was listed as director of a restricted research unit beneath St. Catherine's.”
Sofia remembered the security footage.
Claire had entered the underground wing.
“Is that unit still accessible?”
“Officially, no.”
“Unofficially?”
A long silence.
Then Dr. Reed whispered:
“I found a maintenance request from last week. Someone repaired the ventilation system.”
Sofia's heart raced.
“Why would an abandoned department need ventilation?”
“Exactly.”
She looked at Elise.
“We need to get inside.”
Elise shook her head.
“That's what Adrian wants.”
Sofia thought about Julien.
Weak.
Injured.
Possibly sedated.
Somewhere inside a building that had been hiding secrets for decades.
“I can't leave him there.”
Dr. Reed spoke again.
“Sofia, listen carefully. I'm going to contact the hospital's legal department and request an emergency review of the transfer records. But you need outside help.”
“Who?”
“Someone Adrian can't control.”
Sofia looked toward the road.
Police.
Investigators.
Regulators.
But how could she know whom to trust?
Then she remembered the photograph of the children in the basement.
Dozens of faces.
Dozens of families.
Surely someone had been searching for answers.
She asked Elise:
“Did Mom ever contact a journalist?”
Elise nodded.
“One.”
“Who?”
“Rachel Bennett. She spent years investigating Meridian.”
Sofia searched the name on her phone.
Rachel Bennett was an investigative reporter based in Chicago.
Her most recent article concerned missing medical trial records.
Sofia called the number listed on her professional website.
A woman answered.
“Rachel Bennett.”
Sofia swallowed.
“My name is Sofia Varenne. I think you knew my mother.”
Silence.
Then Rachel spoke.
“Where is Claire?”
Sofia felt tears rising.
“I don't know.”
Rachel's voice changed.
“Listen to me carefully. Do not go back to St. Catherine's.”
“Why?”
“Because I've been investigating that hospital for six months.”
Sofia gripped the phone.
“And?”
May you like
Rachel took a shaky breath.
“Because the man running its underground research wing is supposed to have been dead for twelve years.”
Related Stories
