The surgical team arrived within minutes.

Emily was rushed into emergency surgery.

Her blood pressure continued dropping.

Her temperature climbed.

And her hand remained dangerously discolored.

During surgery, we discovered extensive tissue damage and a severe infection that had been trapped beneath the cast.

There was also something else.

A small piece of metal.

A broken fragment from an orthopedic fixation device.

Marcus stared at it.

“How does something like that get inside her arm?”

I didn’t answer.

Because I already knew.

Someone had performed a procedure on Emily.

And something had gone horribly wrong.

But instead of returning her to the hospital…

Someone had hidden the damage.

We took tissue samples.

The results were terrifying.

Emily wasn’t suffering from the flu.

She had a rapidly spreading bacterial infection.

Another few hours could have cost her life.

Or her arm.

Possibly both.

While the surgeons worked, I asked the nurses to contact the hospital where Emily’s original procedure had supposedly been performed.

There was no record.

No admission.

No operation.

Nothing.

I stared at the computer.

“Then where did this happen?”

Marcus looked at me.

“Maybe she never had the procedure at a hospital.”

My stomach dropped.

Before I could respond, a nurse entered.

“Dr. Jenkins?”

“Yes?”

“Police are here.”

“Why?”

She hesitated.

“They say Emily’s husband called them.”

My eyebrows tightened.

“What did he tell them?”

“That you’re refusing to let him see his wife.”

I almost laughed.

Then I realized something.

Daniel wasn’t trying to see Emily.

He was trying to control the story.

Part 3 — The Police Arrive

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