Chapter 4 - THE SECRET FROM THE CRASH
I ran from Room 603 before Marcus could explain.
When I reached Suite 914, Owen was struggling to breathe, his face glistening with sweat. The heart monitor beeped erratically.
I pressed the emergency call button.
Then Owen seized my wrist.
"No doctors."
"You're having a medical emergency!"
"Not Shaw."
His grip weakened.
I had seconds to choose between obeying him and risking his life. I pulled the emergency alarm anyway, but when the first nurse arrived, I told her Owen had suddenly become agitated.
She called for an independent physician from another department.
Dr. Shaw appeared moments later.
"What happened?"
"I don't know," I lied. "I found him like this."
He approached the bed, but Owen's eyes opened just enough to meet mine.
Fear.
Pure, unmistakable fear.
Dr. Shaw adjusted the oxygen line and ordered everyone out except himself and the nurse. I was halfway through the doorway when Owen's voice emerged.
"Emily."
The entire room froze.
Dr. Shaw turned so sharply that his glasses slipped down his nose.
Owen swallowed.
"Get... away... from me."
The nurse stared at him in disbelief.
Two years of medical reports had described Owen as unresponsive. Now he was speaking in front of witnesses.
Dr. Shaw recovered first.
"This could be a reflex response. We need to sedate him immediately."
"No!" I shouted.
Everyone looked at me.
I had no proof, but I couldn't let him inject Owen with anything.
The independent physician stepped between them and ordered a neurological assessment.
For the first time, Dr. Shaw had to obey someone else's instructions.
Hours later, the tests confirmed Owen had regained consciousness and was beginning to recover motor function.
But the physician also discovered traces of an unfamiliar sedative in his bloodstream.
A substance that should never have been administered for months, much less years.
As security escorted Dr. Shaw away for questioning, he looked directly at me.
"You have no idea what you've started."
Then he leaned toward the guard and whispered something I couldn't hear.
May you like
The guard immediately released his arm.
And when Dr. Shaw walked out of the hospital, nobody stopped him.
