Chapter 3: Under the Knife
Back at St. Jude’s Memorial, the red surgical light flickered above the double doors of Operating Room 3. Clara paced the tiled hallway, her clothes still damp from the rain, her phone vibrating incessantly in her coat pocket.
*Caller ID: Thomas.*
She stared at the screen, letting it ring out until it clicked into voicemail. Three seconds later, a text arrived: *Where are you and Maya? The clinic called my office. Do not let them touch her stomach. I'm on my way.*
Clara ignored the chill running down her spine. Instead, she walked to the nurses' station and requested immediate security presence outside the pediatric wing.
An hour crawled by. Every tick of the wall clock felt like an executioner’s drum. Finally, the heavy doors pushed open, and Dr. Daniel emerged, pulling off his surgical cap. His brow was furrowed, but his eyes offered a glimmer of relief.
"She’s in recovery," he said, ushering Clara into a private consultation room. He pulled a stainless steel kidney dish from his coat, setting it on the desk. Inside lay a titanium cylinder no larger than a lipstick tube, thoroughly sanitized.
"The seal held, barely," Dr. Daniel explained. "Another twenty-four hours, and gastric acid would have breached the casing. It contains a high-capacity encrypted drive."
"What did he store on it?" Clara whispered, afraid of the answer.
May you like
"Something dangerous enough to risk his daughter’s life," Daniel replied gravely. "And right now, he knows you have it."
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