CHAPTER 2: THE SECRET SHE WOULDN'T TELL
Twenty minutes later, Rachel underwent emergency imaging.
Doctors expected to find a severe infection.
Perhaps a ruptured blood vessel.
Maybe a hidden tumor.
What they discovered left them stunned.
The scan revealed several elongated objects beneath the skin of her calf.
Foreign objects.
Multiple.
Carefully inserted.
The radiologist stared at the screen.
"What am I looking at?"
No one answered.
Because nobody understood it.
Dr. Grant returned to Rachel's room.
This time security officers quietly stood outside.
Rachel noticed immediately.
Fear flashed across her face.
"You called them."
It wasn't a question.
Dr. Grant sat down.
"Rachel, we need the truth."
Silence.
"Those objects inside your leg didn't get there accidentally."
Her eyes filled with tears.
Still she remained silent.
Dr. Grant leaned forward.
"You're pregnant."
"You're injured."
"And whatever is happening has put both of your lives at risk."
Finally Rachel broke.
The tears came first.
Then the shaking.
Then the truth.
Six months earlier, she had become involved with a criminal trafficking organization.
At first she didn't understand what they were doing.
They promised easy money.
Transportation jobs.
Nothing dangerous.
Nothing illegal.
Or so she thought.
Then one day they demanded something else.
Something far worse.
They forced her to act as a courier.
Not carrying packages.
Carrying contraband hidden inside her own body.
When she tried refusing, they threatened her.
Threatened her unborn baby.
Threatened her family.
Terrified, she complied.
The objects hidden beneath her skin were sealed packets implanted by members of the organization.
If one ruptured, it could kill her.
And possibly her baby.
The room fell silent.
Even the security officers looked horrified.
But the nightmare wasn't over.
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Because Rachel had one final warning.
"They know I'm here."
