Chapter 3 - The Shadow in the Ward
The revelation of Sarah Miller’s existence changed everything.
I didn't go to the police right away. I went to Detective Miller, who had established a temporary workspace in the hospital’s security office. When I told him about the phone call, his face went from professional concern to a dark, hard gravity.
"We’re looking into his past marriages now," Miller said, typing rapidly on his laptop. "Our initial database check didn't flag a previous marriage because he legally changed his last name from Miland to Parker ten years ago, right after the death of a child named Leo Miland. It was filed as a 'personal rebranding' for his business. But the certificates match. He was married to Sarah Miland for six years."
"And his mother?" I asked, my hands gripping the edge of his desk. "Is she really at the Shady Pines facility upstate?"
Miller clicked through several screens, his eyes reflecting the blue light of the monitor. "According to the state registry, Eleanor Miland is registered at Shady Pines. But here’s the problem, Nora. She’s not a patient there. She’s on the board of directors. And she still holds an active, unrestricted nursing license in this state."
"She’s been helping him," I said, the horror of it settling into my bones. "Every time Mark went to visit her 'in the facility,' he wasn't visiting a sick old woman. He was picking up the drugs. He was getting instructions on how to dose Lily without causing immediate liver failure."
"If that's true," Miller said, standing up and grabbing his coat, "then the hospital itself might not be safe. If Eleanor has credentials here, or if she has friends on the staff who still owe her favors, they could have access to Lily's chart."
We ran back to Ward 4B.
The corridor was quiet, the afternoon light casting long, orange shadows across the linoleum. But as we neared Room 412, I noticed the door was slightly ajar.
The police officer who was supposed to be stationed outside the door was gone.
"Where is the guard?" I whispered, my heart slamming against my ribs.
Miller drew his weapon, his movement silent and practiced. He pushed the door open with his foot.
The room was empty of medical staff. Lily was still in her bed, but her eyes were wide open, staring at the ceiling with a glazed, terrified look. The green line on her EKG monitor was erratic, jumping between fifty and one hundred and thirty beats per minute.
Standing over her, holding a small syringe with a long, glittering needle, was an elderly woman in a grey wool coat. Her hair was white, pinned back in a neat, professional bun. She had Mark’s eyes—pale, watery blue, and entirely devoid of warmth.
"It’s time for your evening vitamins, sweetheart," the woman whispered to Lily.
"Get away from her!" I screamed, lunging into the room.
The woman didn't panic. She turned slowly, her hand steady as she held the syringe. "Nora. You always were a very loud girl. No wonder Mark was so stressed. A man needs peace in his own home."
"Drop the needle, Eleanor," Detective Miller commanded, his gun pointed directly at her chest. "Step away from the bed. Now."
Eleanor Miland looked at the gun, then at me, and let out a soft, dry laugh that sounded like dry leaves scraping across concrete. "You think you've saved her, don't you? You think this little circus is going to cure her. But Lily’s blood is already thin. She has her father's heart, Nora. She was always going to need the medicine. We were just helping her along."
She didn't drop the syringe. With a sudden, terrifying speed that defied her age, she plunged the needle toward Lily’s IV port.
I didn't think about the gun, the police, or the consequences. I threw my body across my daughter, my hands slamming into Eleanor’s wrists. The syringe flew from her grip, shattering against the metal base of the bedside table, a clear, odorless liquid spraying across the floor.
Miller tackled the old woman to the ground, the sound of handcuffs clicking echoing through the room as the nurses finally rushed in, alerted by my screams.
"Check the line!" I screamed at Dr. Grant, who was already at Lily's side. "Did any of it get in? Did she touch the port?"
Dr. Grant inspected the IV tube, her fingers trembling as she closed the safety clamp. "No. The line is clean. She didn't manage to depress the plunger. But we need to get Lily to the ICU. Now. We can't guarantee the security of this floor anymore."
May you like
As they wheeled Lily's bed out of the room, I looked down at Eleanor Miland, who was being dragged out of the room by two officers. She didn't look defeated. She looked at me with a cold, triumphant grin that made me realize the battle wasn't over.
"He’s already out, Nora," she whispered as she passed me. "Mark’s lawyers are very expensive. He’s coming home tonight."
