Chapter 4
I woke in a private hospital room with an IV in my wrist and Vanessa sitting beside the bed.
She was reading a magazine.
Calm.
Perfectly dressed.
Like a sister keeping vigil.
When she realized I was awake, she closed the magazine and smiled.
“You scared everyone.”
“What happened?”
“You collapsed.”
“I know that.”
“The doctors think stress.”
I looked toward the glass door.
No doctor.
No nurse.
Only Vanessa.
“Where is Father?”
“Resting.”
“I need to see him.”
She leaned closer.
“You need to stop.”
Her tone changed so slightly anyone outside the room might have missed it.
I did not.
“Stop what?”
“Digging.”
My pulse accelerated on the monitor.
Vanessa glanced at it.
“Look at you. You turn everything into drama.”
“You changed the will.”
“Father changed the will.”
“He called me.”
Her expression tightened.
I saw it.
Then it vanished.
“He is confused.”
“He said he did not remember signing.”
Vanessa stood and adjusted the blanket over my legs as though caring for me.
“You have always needed him to choose you.”
“This is not about being chosen.”
“It is always about that with you.”
She reached toward the IV pump.
I caught her wrist.
“What are you doing?”
“Calling the nurse.”
“The button is on the wall.”
For one second, we stared at each other.
Then the door opened.
A nurse entered.
Vanessa recovered instantly.
“Elise is becoming agitated.”
The nurse looked at my hand around Vanessa’s wrist.
Then at my face.
I released her.
Later, after Vanessa left, the nurse returned alone.
Her name was Camille Hart.
She closed the door behind her.
“You were right to stop her.”
I stared at her.
“What did she touch?”
Camille looked toward the IV line.
“I don’t know yet.”
Then she handed me a small digital recorder.
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“She talks when she thinks patients are asleep.”
Read the full story 👉 A nurse inside the private medical suite suspected Vanessa had been tampering with Elise’s treatment and began preserving what she heard.
