Chapter 5 The Nurse’s Smile
The smile on the nurse’s face didn’t belong in a hospital. It wasn’t warm, it wasn’t kind, it was cold. Almost like she had been waiting for me.
Before I could react, she slowly dragged one finger across her throat again, then turned and walked away as if nothing had happened.
My body froze. “Ethan…” I whispered. His grip tightened around my wrist.
“You saw her, didn’t you?” I nodded.
“Who is she?” “I don’t know her name.”
My heart pounded. “But I’ve seen her before.”
“Where?” “Outside my room.”
I stared at him. “What?”
He swallowed hard. “The night someone tried to disconnect my life support.”
A chill ran through me. I looked toward Alexander. His expression became dangerously calm.
“When did this happen?”
Ethan looked at him. “Two nights ago.”
“And nobody reported it?”
“I did.”
“What did the hospital say?”
“They couldn’t find anyone matching my description on the security cameras.”
Alexander’s jaw clenched. “They erased the footage.”
Ethan nodded. “That’s what I think.”
I felt sick. This wasn’t just about me anymore. Someone had tried to kill Ethan, someone was following me and somehow my father was connected to everything.
Alexander turned toward one of the guards outside the room. “Seal this floor.”
The guard nodded immediately. “Yes, sir.”
“I want every exit covered.”
Within seconds, the hallway filled with security officers. The nurses at the station looked confused as men in black suits spread across the floor.
Alexander pulled out his phone. “Get the hospital director here now.” He ended the call before the person on the other end could answer.
I looked back at Ethan. “You said my father died protecting something.”
He hesitated. “I don’t know everything.”
“Then tell me what you do know.”
His eyes drifted toward Alexander. “I can’t.”
Frustration rushed through me. “People are trying to kill us.”
“I know.”
“Then stop keeping secrets.”
He closed his eyes for a second. “When I woke up after the accident, I remembered hearing two men arguing.”
My pulse quickened. “What were they saying?”
“They thought I was unconscious.”
He paused. “One of them said your name.”
I stopped breathing. “The other man said they should’ve gotten rid of you years ago.”
The room fell silent. I felt my knees weaken. Years ago? What did that mean? I had never met any of these people before last week. Why would anyone want me dead?
Alexander looked at Ethan. “Did you recognize their voices?”
“No.” “Did you see their faces?”
“I couldn’t move.” His voice cracked.
“But I remember one thing.”
“What?”
“They mentioned a file.”
Alexander’s eyes narrowed. “What file?”
“I don’t know.”
Ethan rubbed his forehead. “They kept saying they had to find your father’s file before Isabella did.”
Every question seemed to create five more. “What file?” I asked.
“My father never kept secrets from me.”
Alexander looked at me. “Are you sure?”
His question caught me off guard. I thought about the tiny apartment where my father and I had lived, the endless bills, the long nights when he worked late, the strange phone calls he sometimes ended the moment I entered the room.
A memory suddenly surfaced. About six months before he died, I had walked into his bedroom without knocking. He had quickly shoved a thick brown envelope into the bottom drawer of his desk. When I asked what it was, he smiled and said it was nothing important. At the time, I believed him. Now I wasn’t so sure.
Alexander noticed my expression change. “What?”
I slowly looked at him. “There was an envelope.”
His eyes sharpened immediately. “What kind of envelope?”
“Brown.”
“Did you ever open it?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Do you know where it is now?”
“I… I don’t know.”
Then another memory hit me. The morning after my father’s funeral. Our house had looked different. Drawers had been left open, books had been knocked off the shelves. I had blamed the mess on relatives searching for documents related to his debts.
Now my stomach turned. Someone had searched the house. Not for money, for that envelope.
A knock interrupted my thoughts. One of the guards stepped inside.
“Mr. Kingston.”
“What?”
“We checked the hallway.”
“And?”
“The nurse is gone.”
Alexander’s face hardened. “What do you mean gone?”
“We searched every floor.” The guard looked uneasy. “Nobody matching her description works here.”
Silence filled the room. I felt my heartbeat quicken. “That’s impossible,” I whispered.
“I saw her.” “So did Ethan,” Alexander replied quietly.
The guard swallowed. “Hospital management checked their employee records.” He hesitated before continuing. “There has never been a nurse here with that face or that name.”
At that exact moment, my phone vibrated inside my handbag. Every person in the room looked at it.
Slowly, I reached inside and pulled it out.
Unknown number, again. This time, a photo appeared instead of a message. My hands began to shake before I even opened it. Something told me I wasn’t going to like what I was about to see…
