But an hour later, the locked doors of the pediatric ward rattled loudly. Shouting echoed from the hallway. I bolted upright in bed, my heart hammering against my ribs. Through the small glass window of my door, I saw him.
Thomas Carter had slipped past a security checkpoint downstairs. He was standing at the nurses’ station, his face twisted in a mask of absolute, unhinged rage, pointing a finger directly toward my room. And in his hand, he was holding a stack of legal papers.
Chapter 4: Unearthing the Monsters
The standoff at the nurses’ station was brief, but to me, it felt like an eternity suspended in ice.
Thomas Carter’s voice, a low, rumbling baritone that had haunted my nightmares, reverberated through the corridor. “This is a gross misunderstanding! My daughter has severe behavioral issues. She is a compulsive liar. I have my attorney on the phone right now, and if you don’t release her to my custody, I will sue this hospital into the bedrock!”
Rebecca appeared behind him, weaponizing her tears. “My baby! Please, you don’t understand her trauma! We are her parents!”
From my bed, I squeezed my eyes shut, pressing my hands over my ears. I expected the door to fly open. I expected Thomas’s heavy hand to grab my hair and drag me out into the cold.
Instead, the booming voice of hospital security shattered the illusion of their control. “Sir, step back from the desk. You are violating a protective hold.”
When I finally opened my eyes, Dr. Grant was standing firmly in front of the glass of my door, using her own body to block their view of me. A moment later, two armed police officers arrived on the floor, physically escorting Thomas and Rebecca back to the elevators.
The silence that followed was heavy and suffocating.
