She is just seeking attention, doctor, please don't let her dramatic episodes disrupt your triage bay, my stepmother told the ER physician as I lay bleeding onto the coastal clinic floor.
Evelyn, sensing my growing resistance, accelerated her plans. The family confrontation, the ethics board, the quiet bribe—none of it had worked. She wasn’t one to waste time. A text from Trey confirmed it: an extraordinary board vote was scheduled for the following afternoon, before the formal ethics hearing could even take place. Her goal was clear: strip my foundation rights immediately.
I met Trey near the hospital basement. The air was cool and smelled faintly of disinfectant and old paper. He looked haggard, his eyes still red-rimmed from crying.
Without a word, he pressed something into my palm: a master keycard and a security badge. They felt heavy, solid.
“This is it,” he whispered, glancing around nervously. “My mom keeps a private safe. Floor twelve. Medical record archives.”
He explained that Evelyn, in her paranoia, preferred physical copies of certain documents. “The original corporate papers for Dad’s foundation,” he said, “and the unscrubbed coastal clinic transfer summary. The real one, the one Ellison probably just hid, not deleted.”
His voice was a strained murmur. “She thinks she’s untouchable. She uses that room for her personal files, away from the digital trail she controls.”
“You’re giving me Evelyn’s keycard?” I asked, my fingers tightening around the cold plastic.
He nodded, his jaw set. “It’s a high-security card. Logs every entry. She’ll know someone was there eventually, but not who. And not until later.”
His gaze met mine, a desperate plea in his eyes. “You have to go tonight, Maya. Before the vote. You have to find whatever she’s hidden there.”
The archives on the twelfth floor were restricted, accessed only by a select few, Evelyn among them. Entering them, especially after hours, meant felony trespassing. If I was caught, the ethics board would have all the proof they needed to revoke my license and send me to jail.
But Evelyn was closing in. This was my last, desperate chance. The card felt like a burning ember in my hand.
“Be careful,” Trey said, his voice barely audible. He turned and walked away, disappearing into the shadows of the basement corridor.
I stood there, the weight of his betrayal and newfound loyalty battling inside me. The master keycard was both a weapon and a ticking time bomb.
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