Chapter 6 - The Break-in
The NICU was a fortress, but only if you had the right credentials. I hammered on the heavy double doors, waving at the nurse on duty, Sarah, through the glass. She saw the terror in my face and unlocked the doors immediately.
"Dr. Aris? What’s going on?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"Lock the doors. Do not let anyone—and I mean anyone—into this ward without my direct, visual confirmation," I barked, grabbing a secure phone.
I didn't call the police; I called the hospital administrator, someone who knew me and knew Evan’s history as a prominent donor. But as I dialed, the power flickered. Then, the lights surged and died, plunging the NICU into the sickly, dim glow of the red emergency lights.
"He’s cut the power," I whispered, the realization hitting me like a physical blow.
Evan wasn't just a manipulator; he was an engineer. He knew the building’s infrastructure. In the dark, the monitors began to beep in a dissonant, frantic chorus. We were on backup power, but the electronic logs were going dark.
I looked at the baby’s isolette. The little boy was breathing, his tiny chest rising and falling. I couldn't let Evan get to him. I grabbed a pen and a pad of paper, writing a quick note for the head of security, then grabbed the most reliable analog tool I could find: a heavy oxygen wrench.
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"Stay with the babies," I told Sarah. "I’m going to end this."
I slipped out the back exit, moving through the darkened hospital. The halls were a labyrinth of shadows. I could hear footsteps—deliberate, slow, confident—hunting me. Evan knew I was in the building, and he knew I had the blood evidence. He wasn't just hunting for the baby; he was hunting for the proof that would put him in prison for the rest of his life.
