Smoke Behind the Hospital Doors
Chapter 09 - Smoke Behind the Hospital Doors
Hospital staff moved Claire, Rosa, and the newborn patients toward a protected wing while firefighters rushed downstairs. Adrian refused to leave until he knew Claire was safe.
The fire was contained quickly. It had started in a locked records room, but the evidence was not lost. Noah had already uploaded encrypted copies to three independent attorneys and a federal investigator.
Security footage showed a woman in scrubs entering the room with a stolen badge. Police arrested her near the loading dock. She was a private investigator who had worked for Victor Shaw for years.
Claire’s contractions returned during the evacuation. Doctors warned that stress could trigger premature labor. Adrian sat beside her afterward, shaken by how close he had come to losing both her and the baby.
“I should have removed Vanessa from our lives when we married,” he said.
“You can’t rewrite the beginning,” Claire replied. “You can decide what happens next.”
Across town, Vanessa appeared on a morning news program before police could locate her. Calm and composed, she claimed the video was an artificial fabrication created by Claire and Noah to seize the company. She portrayed herself as a whistleblower trying to protect employees from Adrian’s reckless leadership.
The accusation spread rapidly online.
Victor called an emergency board meeting and announced that Adrian would be removed unless he appeared in person within two hours. He believed the public scandal would force the directors to act before experts authenticated the files.
Claire saw the trap. If Adrian stayed, Victor would take the company. If he left her side, Vanessa would tell the world he had abandoned his pregnant wife for power.
“You have to go,” Claire said.
“I’m not leaving you.”
“Then they win.”
Adrian touched his forehead to hers. “The company is not worth you.”
“This isn’t only about the company. Thousands of people work for it. Your father died trying to protect them from Victor. Finish what he started.”
Adrian reluctantly left with Noah and two federal agents.
As Adrian entered the elevator, he received a text from an unknown number: CHOOSE CAREFULLY. A photograph showed Claire asleep in her hospital bed, taken only minutes earlier. He turned back, but Claire’s police guard confirmed that no stranger had entered. Someone inside the hospital was still watching.
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Thirty minutes later, Claire’s heart monitor began flashing.
The baby was coming six weeks early.
