Chapter 2: The General's Question
General Nia Carter didn't raise her voice.
She didn't need to.
“Mr. Victor, step away from the bed.””
Victor gave a short, incredulous laugh.
“You can't seriously be ordering me around in a hospital.””
Nia adjusted the blanket around Maya's shoulders before turning to face him.
“I just did.””
“This woman is involved in a confidential corporate matter.””
“She is an injured patient.””
“And she signed an agreement before she was admitted.””
Maya lifted her head.
“No, I didn't.””
Victor pointed at her without looking away from Nia.
“She is confused. Her condition is affecting her memory.””
Nia's eyes narrowed.
“Then why are you pressuring her to sign another document?””
Victor opened his mouth, then closed it.
For a moment, the only sounds in the room were the steady monitor and Maya's uneven breathing.
Nia held out her hand.
“Give me the waiver.””
Victor didn't move.
“I don't see why you need to examine it.””
“Because you've been threatening an injured woman in a hospital bed.””
“I have done nothing illegal.””
“Wonderful. Then you won't mind cooperating.””
Victor glanced toward the glass.
One of the officials finally stepped inside. He was a tall Black man with silver at his temples and a dark blue tie. He carried his folder as though it contained something fragile.
“General,” he said, “perhaps we should all take a moment to understand the circumstances.””
Nia turned toward him.
“Name and position.””
The man hesitated.
“Malcolm Reed. Corporate compliance liaison.””
“And your authority to supervise a patient's consent to a liability waiver?””
Reed adjusted his tie.
“We're here to ensure that the facts are properly documented.””
“That's not what I asked.””
The second official entered behind him, a Black woman in a charcoal suit whose expression had become carefully neutral.
“Denise Walker,” she said.
“Legal affairs.””
Nia nodded once.
“Then Ms. Walker should understand why nobody has the right to intimidate this patient into accepting responsibility before she has freely agreed to anything.””
Victor shook his head impatiently.
“This is absurd. The waiver simply protects the company from baseless claims.””
“Which company?”” Nia asked.
Victor's lips tightened.
“That's irrelevant.””
“Not to me.””
Nia picked up the waiver.
The first line beneath the title was printed in bold capital letters.
FULL LIABILITY RELEASE.
Below it appeared another sentence.
PATIENT ACCEPTS ALL BLAME.
Nia read the page without changing her expression. Then she turned it over.
There was a signature line, an empty date field, and a paragraph requiring the patient to waive any future claims connected to the incident.
She placed the document flat on the tray.
“Did Maya sign this?””
Victor folded his arms.
“She was expected to.””
“That's not my question.””
“No.””
The admission escaped before Victor could dress it up.
Maya looked at him.
“You told me I had already agreed.””
Victor snapped his fingers toward her.
“Don't twist my words.””
Nia moved between them.
“Do not address her that way.””
Victor's face reddened.
“You seem to have forgotten that you don't control this situation.””
“I'm not interested in controlling it,” Nia replied.
“I'm interested in understanding it.””
She turned back to Maya.
“Sweetheart, I need you to tell me what happened in your own words. You don't have to guess, and you don't have to protect anyone. Do you understand?””
Maya nodded, then hesitated.
“They said it was my fault.””
“Who said that?””
“He did.”” Maya pointed toward Victor.
“And the men outside the room said I needed to cooperate.””
Reed immediately stepped forward.
“I never told her to sign anything.””
Maya flinched at his sudden movement.
Nia raised one hand.
“Stay where you are.””
Reed stopped.
Nia returned her attention to Maya.
“Did anyone explain why you were being asked to accept all the blame?””
Maya shook her head.
“They said it would make everything easier. They said I could leave the hospital sooner if I signed.””
Victor scoffed.
“She is inventing details.””
Maya's face crumpled.
“I am not!””
Her voice cracked across the room.
Everyone fell silent.
Maya pressed her lips together, fighting for breath. Nia pulled a chair closer to the bed and sat down so that their eyes were level.
“Look at me,” Nia said gently.
“You don't have to convince everyone in this room at once. Just tell me what you remember.””
Maya stared at her hands.
“I remember the sound first.””
“What sound?””
“Brakes. Really loud. Then glass breaking.””
Her fingers began to twist the blanket.
“I remember trying to get out. I remember somebody shouting at me not to move.””
Nia waited.
Maya swallowed.
“And then I remember Victor standing over me.””
Victor's expression changed.
It was subtle, but Nia saw it.
“You were at the scene?”” she asked him.
“I arrived afterward.””
“Where?””
“Near the vehicle.””
“Which vehicle?””
Victor stared at her.
“The vehicle involved in the accident.””
“Whose vehicle?””
“General, I don't appreciate this interrogation.””
“Then answer the question.””
He rubbed his forehead, glancing at the documents as if they might provide a safer conversation.
“It was a company vehicle.””
Maya looked up sharply.
“No,” she whispered.
Victor turned toward her.
“What?””
Maya's breathing quickened.
“It wasn't just a company vehicle.””
Nia leaned closer.
“What do you mean?””
Maya looked at Victor, then at the two officials.
“They kept saying I wasn't supposed to know who was inside.””
Denise Walker's fingers tightened around her folder.
Reed took a small step toward the door.
Nia noticed both movements.
“Maya,” she said, keeping her voice calm, “who was inside?””
Maya's lips parted, but no sound came out.
Victor moved toward the bed.
“That's enough.””
Nia stood immediately.
“Take one more step and you'll be explaining your actions to hospital security.””
Victor stopped, his nostrils flaring.
“You have no idea what you're interfering with.””
“Then explain it.””
He didn't.
Maya reached for Nia's sleeve.
“There was someone else,” she whispered.
Nia turned back to her.
“Someone else in the vehicle?””
Maya nodded.
“And when I tried to tell them, they said I was lying.””
“Who said that?””
Maya stared past Nia toward the observation window.
The second official had moved closer to the glass. Her hand was pressed against her folder, and her face had gone pale.
Maya's voice dropped to almost nothing.
“The person who was inside that vehicle wasn't supposed to survive.””
Nobody moved.
Nia looked toward Victor.
For the first time, his confidence had completely disappeared.
May you like
Then Maya whispered the words that made the general's expression turn cold.
“Because I heard Victor tell someone to make sure there were no witnesses.””
