Chapter 6 - The Night the Hospital Went Dark
Mara ran toward Noah's room.
Dominic grabbed her arm.
“No.”
She jerked free.
“My patient is in there.”
“There's a shooter.”
“And a ten-year-old child.”
Gabriel appeared from the stairwell.
“Dominic, move.”
Another gunshot.
People screamed.
Security rushed toward the south corridor.
Mara slipped into Noah's room.
Dominic followed despite every order shouted behind him.
Noah was awake.
Terrified.
“What's happening?”
“Power problem,” Mara said calmly.
Dominic looked at her.
She gave him a warning glance.
Not now.
Mara disconnected equipment from wall power and confirmed battery backup.
Noah's monitor continued.
“Is someone shooting?”
The boy had heard it.
Mara crouched beside him.
“Yes.”
Dominic expected reassurance.
Instead Mara said, “But there are many people here whose entire job is keeping you safe.”
Noah looked at Dominic.
“Even Uncle Dom?”
Mara glanced at him.
“Especially him.”
Dominic's chest tightened.
Gabriel entered.
“Shooter contained.”
“Who?”
“Hospital maintenance contractor. Paid through Victor's company.”
“Victor?”
“Gone.”
Police later determined the blackout was deliberate.
The shooter never reached Noah.
His purpose appeared to be distraction.
During the darkness, someone entered the hospital evidence room.
The original medication bag disappeared.
Dominic stared at the report.
“They're destroying evidence.”
Mara shook her head.
“Not all of it.”
She had photographed everything.
Pharmacy records existed.
Electronic logs.
Security footage.
The old Dominic would have depended on a single piece of physical evidence.
The new investigation had redundancy.
Victor's attempt failed.
For the first time, Dominic smiled.
“My sister would like you.”
Mara looked at him.
“She'd probably still yell at you.”
“Definitely.”
Noah recovered enough to leave ICU three days later.
Mara walked beside his wheelchair.
At the elevator, Noah hugged her.
“You're coming with us?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I work here.”
Noah frowned.
“You should work at our house.”
Mara laughed.
“I don't think your uncle can afford me.”
Dominic raised an eyebrow.
“You rejected my money before.”
“Exactly.”
Noah whispered loudly, “He likes you.”
Dominic nearly choked.
Mara stared at Noah.
“Your heart surgery has made you reckless.”
Noah grinned.
Dominic looked away.
Gabriel openly smiled.
Mara noticed.
“Don't encourage him.”
Noah went home.
The criminal investigation expanded.
Ethan began talking.
He blamed Victor.
Victor had recruited him fifteen years earlier.
Money.
Smuggling.
Illegal cargo.
Elena discovered the operation.
When she threatened exposure, Ethan sabotaged her vehicle under Victor's orders.
But something went wrong.
Elena survived the initial crash.
Ethan believed she died instantly.
Victor later learned she had reached the hospital alive.
That explained the buried statement.
Someone had suppressed Mara's report.
A retired detective admitted taking money to remove it from the file.
Dominic listened to the confession in silence.
Eight years.
One sentence could have changed everything.
Don't let him trust Gabriel.
But even Elena had been mistaken at that moment.
The deeper truth was worse.
A system of frightened and corrupted people had made sure nobody asked enough questions.
Dominic met Mara outside the hospital after her shift.
“Dinner.”
She looked at him.
“Is that an order?”
“No.”
“Good.”
He hesitated.
“Would you have dinner with me?”
Mara studied him.
“Why?”
The question surprised him.
“Because I want to.”
“That's not very specific.”
“I like talking to you.”
“Concerning.”
“I think about you when you're not there.”
“More concerning.”
Dominic almost laughed.
“And you make me want to tell the truth before you force it out of me.”
Mara's expression softened.
“That's possibly the least romantic invitation I've ever received.”
“I'm inexperienced.”
“At dinner?”
“At asking for things I can't buy.”
That landed differently.
Mara looked at him for several seconds.
“One dinner.”
Dominic smiled.
“One.”
“No bodyguards at the table.”
“Fine.”
“No buying the restaurant.”
“I wasn't planning—”
“Dominic.”
“Fine.”
Their first date happened in a tiny Italian restaurant where nobody recognized him.
Mara ordered pasta.
Dominic ordered something expensive and disliked it.
She laughed at him.
He realized he enjoyed being laughed at when there was affection inside it.
Then Mara asked:
“What happens if Victor is arrested?”
“What do you mean?”
“What happens to you?”
Dominic became quiet.
“I cooperate.”
“And your organization?”
“I dismantle anything illegal.”
“Even if it costs you everything?”
He looked at her.
“Yes.”
Mara nodded.
“Then maybe there's hope for you.”
“High praise.”
“Don't get excited.”
They walked outside after dinner.
Rain had begun.
Dominic opened an umbrella.
Mara stepped beneath it.
Their shoulders touched.
He looked at her.
She looked back.
Something shifted.
Dominic leaned slightly closer.
Mara did not move away.
His phone rang.
Gabriel.
Dominic almost ignored it.
Mara said, “Answer.”
He did.
Gabriel's voice was urgent.
“We found Victor.”
Dominic stopped.
“Where?”
“Your house.”
His blood went cold.
“Noah?”
May you like
Gabriel's next words shattered the evening.
“Victor has him.”
