I spent twelve months falling in love with the letters Arthur wrote to me while I was in recovery, rebuilding my life after addiction and bankruptcy.
The coded letters felt like a live wire in my hands. This was it. This was the irrefutable evidence. I bundled them into my briefcase, my heart hammering with a desperate hope. I had to get them to Dr. Kincaid, the Chief of Medical Ethics. He was my only hope.
I sped through the administrative hallway, my footsteps echoing in the early morning quiet. Dr. Kincaid’s office was just around the corner.
But as I rounded the bend, Silas Finch stepped directly into my path, a predatory gleam in his eyes.
“Looking for someone, Nurse Albright?” he asked, his voice dripping with false concern.
“Move, Silas,” I snapped, trying to push past him.
He didn’t budge. Instead, his hand shot out, grabbing the handle of my briefcase. “I’m afraid I can’t do that. Hospital security hold, you see.”
He yanked the briefcase from my grasp. I lunged for it, but he was surprisingly strong, twisting away.
“You can’t do this!” I yelled, my voice cracking. “That’s my personal property!”
Silas merely smiled, a cold, triumphant expression. He held up a laminated ID card. “Hospital director’s authorization. Arthur needs these documents for the internal investigation. Or so he says.”
He pulled a thin file from his jacket pocket. “Speaking of investigations, Evelyn, your little runaway act last night? It sealed the deal.”
My blood ran cold. “What are you talking about?”
“Child Protective Services,” he replied, his gaze unwavering. “They’re arriving within the hour. They have a court order now. They’re taking Toby into temporary state custody.”
A gasp tore from my throat. No. Not Toby. He couldn’t.
“You won’t find him,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady, but a tremor ran through it. “He’s not here.”
Silas merely shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. They’ll find him eventually. And by then, your little ‘evidence’ here will be… irrelevant.” He tapped my briefcase.
Desperation clawed at me. Silas was right. Without Toby, I had nothing. My only option was to protect my son.
“He’s in the abandoned lower rehabilitation ward,” I heard myself say, the words tumbling out before I could stop them. “He’s hiding there.”
Silas’s eyes narrowed. “Thank you, Evelyn. That saves us some time.”
He turned, the briefcase clutched in his hand, and walked away, leaving me shattered and alone in the empty corridor. My precious evidence, gone. My son’s hiding place, revealed. I had traded one loss for another, hoping against hope that Toby would stay hidden, that he would be safe.
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