Chapter 2 - The Boy Who Saw Too Much
Madeline grabbed the phone.
"Where is Noah?"
Dominic was beside her within seconds.
Rebecca screamed her son's name.
Hospital staff began checking adjoining rooms while security sealed the elevators.
Madeline stared at the empty bed.
Noah couldn't walk.
Not after surgery.
Someone had moved him.
And whoever had done it knew exactly when the lights would fail.
Dominic took the phone.
Madeline snatched it back.
"No."
His eyebrows lifted.
"That's evidence."
"It's in my patient's room."
"And somebody just abducted your patient."
"Which means I don't know who to trust."
Dominic studied her.
"Good."
She hadn't expected that answer.
"Good?"
"Trust is what got Daniel Reeves killed."
Rebecca made a broken sound.
Dominic immediately softened his tone.
"I'm sorry."
"Find my son."
"I will."
Madeline turned to the charge nurse.
"Check transport logs. Every elevator. Every stairwell. Nobody moves a patient without leaving some trace."
A young nurse named Emily raised her hand.
"I saw an orderly."
"When?"
"During the blackout. He was pushing a bed toward Imaging."
"Did you recognize him?"
"No."
Dominic asked, "Uniform?"
"Gray."
Madeline's heart dropped.
Their orderlies wore green.
She ran.
Dominic followed.
They reached the imaging corridor.
Empty.
Then Madeline heard wheels.
A faint squeak.
She pointed.
"Service hall."
They turned the corner.
A hospital bed sat abandoned beside a laundry door.
No Noah.
Madeline touched the mattress.
Warm.
Dominic crouched beside the wheel.
"Blood."
A small drop marked the floor.
Madeline's fear sharpened.
"His surgical site."
They followed the trail.
It ended at a service elevator.
Dominic pressed the button.
Nothing.
"Disabled."
Madeline looked at the stairwell.
"Basement."
They descended.
Dominic's second guard stayed behind with Rebecca.
The basement smelled of detergent, concrete, and industrial disinfectant.
Madeline moved quickly.
Dominic caught her arm.
"Slow down."
"He's bleeding."
"And whoever took him may be waiting."
She pulled free.
"Then keep up."
Something almost resembling a smile crossed Dominic's face.
It vanished immediately.
They heard a crash.
Madeline ran toward it.
Behind a stack of linen carts, Noah lay on the floor.
Conscious.
Terrified.
A man in gray scrubs was trying to force open a loading door.
Dominic moved between the man and Madeline.
The impostor saw him.
Then fled through another corridor.
Dominic started after him.
"No!" Madeline shouted. "Noah first."
Dominic stopped.
That choice mattered.
He returned.
Madeline knelt.
"Noah? Look at me."
The boy's eyelids fluttered.
"Nurse..."
"I'm here."
"He wanted my phone."
"Who?"
Noah looked at Dominic.
Fear filled his face.
"The man from the video."
Dominic crouched several feet away.
"Was it me?"
Noah shook his head.
"Julian?"
Another shake.
Madeline and Dominic exchanged a glance.
A third man.
The man from Daniel's photograph?
Noah whispered, "He said my dad should've stayed quiet."
Dominic's jaw tightened.
They rushed Noah upstairs.
His surgical wound had partially reopened, but the damage was manageable.
Madeline remained beside him while the surgeon repaired it.
Dominic waited outside.
Hours passed.
At 3:17 a.m., Noah was stable again.
Madeline walked into the corridor.
Dominic handed her coffee.
She didn't take it.
"How did someone get into this hospital?"
"Money."
"That's your answer?"
"It's usually the answer."
"And you expect me to believe you're different?"
"No."
That surprised her.
Dominic leaned against the wall.
"I expect you to judge what I do."
"Fine. Start with Julian."
Dominic looked toward the window.
"Julian Vale is the only son of Victor Vale."
"The head of your family."
"Yes."
"And you're his underboss."
"Yes."
"Which means?"
"It means when Victor gives an order, I'm usually the man who makes sure it happens."
Madeline stared at him.
"That isn't comforting."
"It wasn't intended to be."
"Then why protect Noah?"
Dominic looked at her.
"Because children aren't part of our business."
"Apparently Julian disagrees."
"Apparently."
"And Daniel Reeves?"
Dominic's expression darkened.
"He discovered Julian had been diverting company shipments and laundering money through shell contractors."
"Why?"
"That is what Daniel was trying to prove."
"Then he died."
"Before he could give me everything."
Madeline folded her arms.
"And Victor?"
"Doesn't know."
"You expect me to believe his son built some secret operation under his nose?"
"Powerful men often see less clearly when they're looking at their children."
That answer sounded personal.
Madeline noticed.
Before she could ask, Noah's monitor alarmed.
She rushed inside.
His heart rate had spiked.
Noah was awake.
"Madeline."
"I'm here."
"My mom?"
"Safe."
He grabbed her wrist.
"My phone."
"We don't have it."
"No. Backup."
"What backup?"
"Cloud."
Dominic entered.
Noah saw him.
"You knew my dad."
Dominic stopped.
"Yes."
"He trusted you."
"I wasn't fast enough."
Noah studied him.
"My dad said you were scary."
Dominic almost smiled.
"He was right."
"He also said you kept your word."
Dominic's face changed.
Noah continued.
"The video uploaded."
"Where?"
"My account."
He gave Madeline a username.
Then a password.
Madeline opened a hospital tablet.
The account loaded.
One video.
Timestamped less than an hour before the crash.
Madeline pressed play.
Noah had been filming traffic.
Music played faintly inside the Reeves car.
Then the camera shifted.
A black SUV appeared.
Another vehicle approached.
The footage shook.
Voices.
Julian's voice could be heard through an open window.
"Tonight. No mistakes."
Another man answered.
"The old man signs tomorrow. After that, Dominic is finished."
Dominic went motionless.
The video continued.
The second man's face appeared briefly.
Madeline recognized him from Daniel's photograph.
"Who is that?"
Dominic's voice became almost inaudible.
"Marcus Dane."
"Who?"
"Victor Vale's attorney."
Noah whispered, "Keep watching."
The footage showed Marcus handing Julian a folder.
The camera zoomed accidentally.
A page became visible.
TRANSFER OF AUTHORITY.
Victor Vale's name appeared beneath it.
Madeline looked at Dominic.
"What does that mean?"
"Victor has been ill."
"How ill?"
"Not enough to sign away everything."
Noah said, "There's more."
The video shifted.
Marcus said something.
Julian answered clearly.
"Once my father is gone, nobody can stop us."
Dominic closed his eyes.
Madeline understood.
"This isn't theft."
"No."
"It's a takeover."
"Yes."
"And Noah recorded it."
Dominic nodded.
Noah's voice trembled.
"Then they saw us."
The final seconds showed the black SUV turning.
Accelerating.
Rebecca's voice screamed.
The image spun.
The recording ended.
Madeline felt sick.
"They caused the collision."
Dominic didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
Madeline looked at Noah.
"We're going to protect you."
Dominic looked at her.
"We need to move him."
"No."
"Madeline."
"He nearly died twice tonight."
"And he'll die the third time if Julian discovers he's still here."
She hated that he was right.
"Where?"
"A private medical facility."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because it's yours."
Dominic stared at her.
"You really don't trust me."
"I've known you three hours."
"Fair."
Madeline looked at Noah.
"If he moves, I go."
Dominic nodded.
"Agreed."
"And his mother."
"Agreed."
"And his doctor."
"Madeline—"
"Those are my terms."
Dominic stared at her for several seconds.
"You're negotiating with the wrong kind of man."
"Then say no."
He almost smiled again.
"Agreed."
By dawn, Noah was transferred discreetly.
Rebecca traveled with him.
Madeline accompanied the medical team.
Dominic rode in another vehicle.
They arrived at a secluded private clinic outside the city.
No signs.
No obvious security.
Inside, however, Madeline noticed cameras, reinforced doors, and men who watched Dominic without speaking.
Noah was settled into a private room.
Rebecca finally slept in a chair beside him.
Madeline stepped outside.
Dominic stood at the end of the corridor.
"Go home," he said.
"I'll stay."
"You've been awake almost twenty-four hours."
"So have you."
"I'm accustomed to bad decisions."
"I'm a nurse. So am I."
This time, he smiled.
Barely.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed.
"When?"
Silence.
"Keep him there."
He hung up.
"What happened?" Madeline asked.
"Julian disappeared."
"That's bad?"
"Very."
"Why?"
"Because he didn't run."
"How do you know?"
Dominic looked toward Noah's room.
"Because Julian left something for me."
His phone buzzed.
A photograph arrived.
Dominic opened it.
Madeline saw an elderly man seated in a study.
Victor Vale.
Behind him stood Julian.
A gun wasn't visible.
It didn't need to be.
Victor held a handwritten sign.
BRING THE NURSE.
Madeline stared.
"Why me?"
Dominic zoomed in.
There was another line beneath the first.
SHE HAS WHAT DANIEL HID.
Madeline's breath stopped.
"I don't have anything."
Dominic looked at her bloodstained scrub pocket.
Something metallic was protruding from the seam.
Madeline reached inside.
Her fingers closed around a tiny brass key.
She had never seen it before.
May you like
Attached to it was a paper tag.
One number had been written on it.
