Chapter 7: The Woman in the Hallway
Rose stared at the phone in my hand.
“That number belongs to me,” she said again.
Arthur looked like someone had pulled the floor out from under him.
“No,” he whispered.
Rose reached for her own phone on the sofa.
Her hands shook as she unlocked it.
She opened her contacts.
Then her face went blank.
“Arthur…”
“What?””
“My phone doesn't have your number saved.””
I looked at her.
“What?””
She turned the screen toward me.
There was no contact for Arthur.
No recent call.
No message.
Nothing.
Jordan stepped closer.
“Then how did Dad's phone receive a message from ‘Mom’?””
Derek slowly shook his head.
“It wasn't sent from her phone.””
“How do you know?”” I asked.
“Because whoever sent it used a spoofed number.””
Jordan frowned.
“A fake caller ID?””
“Exactly.””
Arthur looked at Derek.
“Can you trace it?””
Derek gave him a cold look.
“You're asking me for help after using my name to move stolen money?””
Arthur lowered his eyes.
“Please.””
“No.””
The word was immediate.
Jordan took the phone from me and looked at the message again.
*You have until noon tomorrow. After that, I'm telling Maya everything.*
I read it over his shoulder.
“Everything.””
“What does that mean?”” I asked.
Arthur didn't answer.
“Dad.””
He rubbed his face.
“There are things you don't know.””
“I figured that out.””
“I was trying to keep them from you.””
“Stop saying that.””
His eyes lifted.
“What?””
“Stop telling me you were protecting me.””
My voice cracked.
“Every time you say it, you make it worse.””
Rose sat down.
She looked exhausted.
“Arthur, what are you hiding?””
He stared at her.
“I can't tell you.””
“Why?””
“Because if I tell you, it's over.””
“What is over?””
Arthur didn't respond.
Derek walked toward the front door.
“I've had enough.””
“Derek,” I said.
He stopped.
“Where are you going?””
“To the hospital.””
“Why?””
“To find out who accessed the account.””
Jordan looked at me.
“I'll go with him.””
Arthur stood immediately.
“No.””
Jordan turned.
“Why?””
“You're not going anywhere near that hospital.””
That was the wrong thing to say.
I watched Jordan's expression change.
“Why not?””
“Because it's dangerous.””
“What's dangerous?””
Arthur hesitated.
“The people involved.””
Derek slowly turned back toward him.
“What people?””
Arthur said nothing.
Derek walked back into the room.
“You told me there was one problem.””
Arthur looked away.
“You told me you needed the money because of one debt.””
He placed both hands on the coffee table.
“Now you're telling us there are people.””
Arthur's voice dropped.
“I don't know who is watching anymore.””
A cold silence filled the room.
I looked at Jordan.
“Call a rideshare.””
Arthur stepped toward me.
“Maya, listen to me.””
“No.””
“You don't know what you're walking into.””
“Then tell me.””
“I can't.””
“Why?””
“Because I don't know who I can trust.””
I stared at him.
“You should've thought about that before you betrayed everyone.””
We left twenty minutes later.
Derek drove.
Jordan sat beside him.
I sat in the back with Grandma.
The hospital appeared through the windshield twenty minutes later, its glass entrance reflecting the afternoon sun.
The same building where I'd cried.
The same hallway where I'd waited outside the operating room.
The same place where I'd believed I was saving Grandma's life.
Derek parked.
Before we got out, his phone buzzed.
He checked it.
His face changed.
“What?””
He turned the screen toward us.
A message.
*Don't bring Maya inside.*
My stomach dropped.
Jordan looked at the sender.
“Who sent that?””
“Unknown number.””
Derek looked at me.
“They know you're coming.””
We entered anyway.
The lobby smelled like disinfectant and coffee.
A receptionist looked up.
“Can I help you?””
Derek approached the desk.
“We're here about a fraud investigation involving Rose Bennett.””
The receptionist's smile disappeared.
“I'll need identification.””
I handed over my driver's license.
The receptionist looked at it.
Then looked at me.
Then quickly picked up the phone.
“Who are you calling?”” I asked.
“Security.””
“Why?””
She didn't answer.
Jordan whispered, “Maya.””
I turned.
He was staring at the hallway behind us.
A man in navy scrubs had stopped walking.
He was watching us.
The moment our eyes met, he turned and disappeared through a door.
Derek followed him.
“Wait!”” I called.
We rushed down the hallway.
The door slammed.
Derek grabbed the handle.
Locked.
Jordan pointed.
“There's another entrance.””
We ran around the corner.
A second door swung open.
The man was gone.
But something lay on the floor.
A hospital access badge.
Derek picked it up.
His face went pale.
“What's wrong?””
He handed it to me.
The photograph showed a Black woman in her forties.
The name underneath read:
*NATALIE COLLINS — PATIENT ADVOCACY*
I looked at Derek.
“Collins?””
He nodded slowly.
“My sister.””
“Your sister works here?””
“She did.””
“Did?””
“She died two years ago.””
My blood went cold.
Jordan looked down the empty hallway.
“Then whose badge is this?””
A door opened behind us.
A woman's voice whispered,
“Yours.””
We turned.
May you like
And Rose screamed.
The woman standing there had the same face as the photograph on the badge.
