Chapter 5: The Unlikely Insider

The weight of Elijah’s confession pressed down on me, heavy and suffocating. I needed undeniable proof, something that couldn’t be dismissed as a distraught husband’s ramblings or my own maternal bias. I needed to prove the paternity. My military contacts were working, but the hospital’s bureaucracy was a formidable wall.

As I walked down a quiet hospital corridor, lost in thought, a soft voice called my name.

“Colonel Reed?”

It was Nurse Loretta Jenkins. She looked nervous, her gaze darting around the empty hallway. She clutched a clipboard to her chest, her knuckles white.

“Nurse Jenkins,” I acknowledged, stopping. “Is everything alright?”

She took a deep breath, visibly steeling herself. “Colonel, I… I can’t keep quiet about this anymore.” Her voice was low, hushed, filled with a desperate urgency.

My attention sharpened. “About what, Nurse?”

She glanced over her shoulder again, then leaned in slightly. “About Dr. Wallace. And her baby.”

My heart rate quickened. “What about them?”

“When Dr. Wallace was admitted,” she explained, her words tumbling out, “they drew a standard blood sample. For routine tests. Infection, blood type, all the usual. The Wallaces were so focused on having her moved, so insistent about ‘privacy,’ they didn’t even question the standard protocol.”

This was it. The crack in their fortress.

“Are you saying,” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady, “that a viable blood sample for DNA analysis still exists?”

She nodded, her eyes wide. “Yes. It’s in the lab. Cataloged under Dr. Wallace’s admission. It hasn’t been discarded yet. Standard procedure is to keep samples for a few days, in case further tests are needed.”

My mind raced. This was precisely what Major Thompson and I had been discussing: how to get a sample without the Wallaces realizing. Nurse Jenkins had just handed me the key.

“Nurse, this is crucial information,” I told her, my voice barely above a whisper. “You understand the risk you’re taking by telling me this?”

She nodded, a faint tremor in her lips. “I do. But… I’ve seen the way they look at her. And what I overheard… and then, what Dr. Carter said about the defensive wounds. It just doesn’t sit right. Naomi… she’s a good woman. And no one deserves this.”

Her eyes met mine, and I saw not just fear, but a flicker of moral indignation, of professional integrity asserting itself. She was no longer just a deferential hospital employee. She was an ally.

“The Wallaces have a great deal of influence in this community,” she continued, her voice gaining a touch more conviction. “They could make things very difficult for anyone who crosses them. Especially in this hospital.”

“I’m aware,” I assured her. “But tell me, Nurse. How would one go about accessing that sample for an… unscheduled test? Without drawing undue attention?”

She bit her lip, then lowered her voice even further. “Normally, you’d need spousal consent for something like a paternity test. Or a court order. But… in cases of suspected assault, especially when there’s a question of endangerment to the patient or an unborn child…”

She paused, looking around one last time. “There are ways. A skilled ‘consultant,’ if they knew the right channels, could expedite a paternity test. It would have to be handled off-site, of course. Sent to an external lab. Discreetly.” She gave me a meaningful look. “A lab that doesn’t require standard spousal consent if a legitimate medical authority makes the request under specific circumstances.”

She was hinting at my military connections, at the very network I had just activated. My former colleague, Major Thompson, could use this information. He would know exactly what she meant.

“Thank you, Nurse Jenkins,” I said, genuinely. “You’ve done a brave thing. A very brave thing.”

She nodded, a faint blush on her cheeks. “I just want to see Naomi safe, Colonel. And that baby.”

“You will,” I promised, my resolve hardening. “I will make sure of it.”

I watched her walk away, her shoulders a little straighter than when she’d first approached me. Her moral compass had finally pointed true. This was the turning point.

I immediately went back to the payphone and called Major Thompson again, feeding him the crucial details from Nurse Jenkins. The existing blood sample, the window of opportunity, the subtle hints about bypassing standard spousal consent in cases of suspected assault for a discreet, off-site test.

“Vivi, that’s exactly what we needed,” Major Thompson’s voice came through the line, brisk and efficient. “A legitimate sample, already on file. And Jenkins’s intel gives us the loophole we need to push it through. I’m contacting my lab connections now. They have protocols for highly sensitive cases, especially when military families are involved. We’ll get that sample out, get it tested, and get the results directly to you.”

“How long?” I asked, my grip tight on the receiver.

“A few days. We’ll need to move fast. The Wallaces won’t stay quiet forever, especially now that Carter is digging deeper. They’ll want to move Naomi, or tamper with records.”

“Understood,” I said. “I’ll keep watch. Thank you, Major.”

“Don’t thank me yet, Vivi. This is just the beginning. The Wallaces will come out swinging once they know you have this. Get ready for a fight.”

I hung up, the words echoing in my mind. A fight. Yes, I was ready. More than ready. I had the bootie, Elijah’s confession, Dr. Carter’s growing medical corroboration, and now, the path to irrefutable DNA evidence. The pieces were all in place. All that was left was the confrontation. The final, brutal reckoning.

I paced the hospital waiting room for a while, the minutes stretching into an eternity. I imagined the Wallaces, still trying to pull strings, still believing their influence was absolute. They were about to discover how wrong they were. The clock was ticking, a silent countdown to their downfall. I just hoped Naomi and her baby would be safe when the dust settled.