Chapter 3 - The Hospital Vigil and the Thumb Drive
St. Jude’s emergency obstetrics unit smelled of sterile soap and clinical dread.
I lay in a motorized hospital bed, hooked up to fetal monitors that ticked away with a steady, reassuring rhythm. The doctors had confirmed that minor bruising and contractions had been triggered by the impact, but miraculously, little Maya—or whatever name she would eventually carry—was holding on. She was a fighter, just like her mother.
The door to my room pushed open softly. I expected a nurse or social worker. Instead, Wyatt stepped inside, holding his store vest in one hand and a small black thumb drive in the other. He looked entirely out of place in the pristine white room, like a rugged piece of timber dragged into a palace, but his presence brought an unexpected wave of calm.
“How’s the little one?” Wyatt asked, stopping respectfully near the foot of the bed.
“She’s stable,” I whispered, touching my sore stomach. “The doctor says if I rest for forty-eight hours, we can avoid premature labor. Thank you, Wyatt. If you hadn't stepped in...”
“You don't need to thank me for doing what any decent human being should do,” he interrupted, his deep voice softening. He held up the thumb drive. “The police took the main security server footage, but my nephew is the IT lead for the district. He pulled the multi-angle footage from aisles three, four, and five before corporate could get their legal team involved to 'protect brand assets'.”
I stared at the thumb drive. “Corporate?”
Wyatt’s jaw tightened. “Apex Logistics insures a lot of local businesses. When word got out who David was, store management started getting nervous phone calls from his company’s legal department within ten minutes of the police arriving. They wanted to bury it as a 'domestic dispute slip-and-fall'.”
My blood ran cold. David had built an entire safety net of influence, bribery, and corporate protection. Even in handcuffs, his shadow stretched long across the city.
“Give that drive to Detective Vance,” I said firmly, my voice hardening. “Not the local precinct captain. Detective Miller mentioned Vance is heading the special investigations unit. He won't take a bribe from a logistics firm.”
May you like
Wyatt nodded slowly, a fierce, approving light flashing in his eyes. “Already on it, Mrs. Sterling. Or... whatever last name you want to use from here on out.”
A bitter, freeing smile touched my lips. “Just Elena. I’m done being a Sterling.”
