Chapter 9 - THE ELEVATOR THAT NEVER REACHED THE BASEMENT
Annie had never been more frightened in her life.
Two hospital employees had arrived outside Room 318 with a wheelchair.
One wore blue scrubs.
The other carried a clipboard.
They claimed Evelyn needed an urgent diagnostic procedure.
But something didn't feel right.
"Which doctor ordered it?" Annie asked.
The man in blue scrubs smiled.
"Dr. Harrison."
Annie frowned.
"Grandma's surgeon is Dr. Patel."
"Dr. Harrison is covering."
Evelyn looked nervous.
"Annie, sweetheart, what's happening?"
Annie stepped between the wheelchair and the bed.
"I'd like to speak to her nurse first."
The man's smile disappeared.
"We're on a schedule."
"So am I."
Annie reached for the call button.
The second employee moved toward her.
"Miss Carter, please don't make this difficult."
Her stomach tightened.
Then her phone rang.
Thomas Whitmore.
She answered immediately.
"Mr. Whitmore?"
"Annie, listen carefully. Don't let anyone take your grandmother out of that room."
She looked toward the men.
"What?"
"Hospital security is on the way."
The man in blue scrubs lunged toward her phone.
Annie stumbled backward.
"Help!"
Evelyn screamed.
The door flew open.
Nurse Emily rushed inside.
"What's going on?"
The two men hesitated.
Then attempted to leave.
But two hospital security officers appeared in the hallway.
Within moments, both men were detained.
Annie collapsed beside her grandmother's bed.
Evelyn held her tightly.
"It's okay, sweetheart."
But Annie could barely breathe.
Someone had tried to take her grandmother.
Inside a hospital.
In broad daylight.
Thomas arrived twenty minutes later.
He found Annie sitting in a chair, trembling.
When she saw him, she stood.
"Mr. Whitmore."
He crossed the room.
"Are you hurt?"
She shook her head.
He looked toward Evelyn.
"Is she safe?"
"Yes," Nurse Emily answered. "We've moved her under additional security."
Thomas exhaled slowly.
Then Annie began crying.
He gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You're safe now."
She looked up.
"Why would someone do this?"
Thomas's expression hardened.
"Because Eleanor knows we're getting close to the truth."
Later that evening, police investigators confirmed that the man in blue scrubs was Victor Bennett.
He had used unauthorized access to create false transport paperwork.
His accomplice was not a hospital employee.
Both were taken into custody.
But the investigation uncovered another disturbing detail.
Victor had been accessing Evelyn's medical records for weeks.
Long before Annie handed Thomas the notebook.
Long before the payroll investigation began.
Thomas stared at the report.
"Why was he watching her?"
An investigator looked at the records.
"Apparently, he was searching for something."
"What?"
The investigator showed Thomas an internal message recovered from Victor's phone.
It had been sent to Eleanor Bennett.
The old woman still has the original documents.
Thomas went still.
Evelyn had already given him Margaret's letter.
What else could she possess?
He returned to Room 318.
Evelyn watched him approach.
"Tommy?"
He sat beside her.
"Miss Evie, is there something you haven't told me?"
Her face changed.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she whispered:
"Your mother didn't leave only a letter."
Thomas leaned forward.
Evelyn looked toward Annie.
"She left a recording."
Annie stared.
"A recording of what?"
May you like
Evelyn closed her eyes.
"The conversation she had with Eleanor Bennett the night before she died."
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