Chapter 2 - The Disappearance of Dr. Aris
The hospital was on lockdown, a fortress of fluorescent lights and hushed whispers. While security combed the facility for Mark, Sarah sat in the breakroom, the stolen phone sitting on the table like an unexploded bomb. She hadn’t turned it over to the police yet. She couldn't—not until she knew who she could trust.
Her gaze kept drifting to the empty office of Dr. Aris, the Chief of Oncology. He was the one who had hired Mark as a "consultant" three months ago. Aris had been absent for two days, citing a medical conference in Geneva, but his inbox showed he hadn't checked a single email.
Sarah dialed the number she had found in the contact list labeled "The Architect." It rang once, twice—and then a familiar voice answered. It wasn't a stranger. It was the hospital’s head of administration.
"Mark? Is that you? We need to talk about the blood samples," the voice said, cold and impatient.
Sarah pressed the phone to her ear, her breath hitched. She didn't speak.
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"If you don't dispose of the remaining evidence in the lab by midnight, the board will initiate the cleanup protocol," the voice continued. "And you know what that means for your wife and the child."
Sarah hung up, her hands trembling. This wasn't just a husband gone rogue; this was systemic. She realized with a jolt of horror that Dr. Aris hadn't gone to a conference. He had been the first to get in the way, and he had been erased. She stood up and walked toward the lab, determined to find what Mark had been trying to protect. She didn't see the shadow slipping out of the stairwell behind her.
