He said, "I can send a local officer to escort her home. " Dana's eyes narrowed. "Who told you she received anything? " There was a short pause. The hospital security desk reported unusual activity on her phone. No one at the security desk has seen the message. Cole quickly explained that he had misunderstood an earlier update.
Dana ended the call without accepting his offer. That afternoon, Noah returned with the results of his audit. The false medication order had been created through an administrative account, but the command had not originated from the pharmacy, a nursing station, or Claire Whitmore's office. Where did it come from? Dana asked.
Noah turned the tablet toward her. The temporary investigation room. on this floor. Jasmine looked through the glass wall toward the offices being used by the task force. The person trying to weaken Maya was not operating outside the investigation. They were already inside it.
Dana waited until the hospital room had been cleared before placing a small tablet beside Maya's communication device. Jasmine remained near the window while Noah Reed connected a second battery pack beneath the bed. The regular system is compromised, Dana said. So, we are adding a separate route. Maya looked toward the tablet.
Dana pointed to three symbols in the lower corner of the eyetracking screen. If you hold your gaze on these in this exact order, the front camera will activate and transmit directly to an FBI server outside the hospital. The symbols were simple. A square, a circle, and a narrow green bar. The signal will not go through St.
Catherine's network. Noah explained. The hospital can cut the room's power, but the battery should keep the transmission active. Should Jasmine asked Noah met her eyes. Nothing is guaranteed when someone has administrative access to the building.
Dana continued once the sequence begins. Do not look away until the green bar turns red. That means the server is receiving video. Maya selected a question. Who knows?
Only you, me, Noah, and the technician who configured the federal server. Dana replied. No local officers. No hospital administrators. Jasmine glanced toward the door.
What about the guards? They know they are protecting the room. They do not know about the live stream. Maya studied the symbols until she could activate them without hesitation. Dana then made a decision that Jasmine did not understand.
She reduced the visible security outside room 314. One agent moved farther down the hall and the second remained inside an unused supply room near the elevators. You are making the room look unprotected. Jasmine said, I am making it look possible. Dana replied.
That is my mother in that bed. And the person who changed her medication order already knows how to move through this hospital. If we do nothing, they will choose the time and place. Tonight, we choose both. Jasmine wanted to argue, but Maya looked at her and selected two words.
Trust plan. Jasmine pulled her chair closer to the bed. I trust you. I do not trust everyone outside this room. Maya blinked once.
Neither did she. Shortly after midnight, Dana asked Jasmine to leave with Eleanor and wait in a secured room one floor below. Jasmine resisted until Maya used the device to tell her that staying would make her another target. At 1:43 in the morning, the security camera outside room 314 began to turn. Mia heard the mechanism stop.
A few seconds later, the ceiling lights went out. The eyetracking screen remained active on battery power. Maya kept her breathing slow and closed her eyes. The electronic lock released. Todd Keane appeared briefly through the narrow window.
He used his access card, disabled the alarm, and stepped aside. Another man entered. Officer Daniel Ror wore dark civilian clothes and carried a black medical bag. He closed the door carefully and waited for his eyes to adjust to the emergency light from the equipment. Maya remained motionless.
Ror approached the bed and opened the bag. Inside were a folded baton, medical restraint straps, a sealed pouch with a false medication label, and a small drive designed to connect to the communication device. He did not touch the baton. Instead, he inserted the drive into the side of the screen. A deletion notice appeared.
Ror watched the progress bar, then looked down at Maya. You made people nervous, he said quietly. That was your first mistake. Maya kept her eyes closed. Your second mistake was believing federal agents could protect information inside a hospital.
The deletion bar stopped at 12%. Ror tapped the screen. Nothing changed. He leaned closer to check the cable. You do not have to die, he said.
You only have to become a witness. No one believes. Maya opened her eyes. Ror stopped moving. She looked directly at him, then shifted her gaze toward the three symbols: square, circle, green bar.
The light beneath the screen changed from green to red. Ror did not notice at first. He thought Maya was trying to type. No one is going to believe a woman who cannot speak, he said. Not after the medication records show confusion.
Not after your own daughter is connected to stolen files. Maya held her gaze steady. The camera transmitted his face, his voice, the false medication pouch, the access card clipped inside his jacket, and the drive attached to her communication system. Ror finally saw the red light. His expression changed.
What did you do? He reached for the screen, but Maya moved her eyes to the lock icon Dana had shown her. The device secured itself. Ror pulled at the cable. The connection held.
He turned toward the door, then back toward Maya. For one second, neither of them moved. Maya stared directly into his eyes. She showed no panic and made no attempt to look away. Ror stepped back.