Chapter 2 - The Missing Fourteen Minutes.
.Evan did not believe her.
He wanted not to believe her.
It would have been easier if Claire had simply lied badly and given him someone obvious to blame.
Instead, she stood beside the shattered glass with a red mark forming on her cheek and spoke with a calm that made him uneasy.
"Call security," she said.
Evan pulled out his phone.
"I will."
"Ask for the raw recording from this room."
"I know how cameras work."
Claire's eyes hardened.
"Then ask for the raw file, not the edited hospital copy."
Before Evan could answer, a nurse entered with a cleaning cart.
Her name badge read Dana Reeves.
She looked at the floor and froze.
"What happened here?"
Claire answered before Evan could.
"The glass fell."
Dana's gaze moved to Claire's cheek.
Then to Evan.
Then back to the broken glass.
"I will get housekeeping."
"Do not touch anything," Claire said.
Dana's expression sharpened.
"Excuse me?"
"Leave the glass where it is."
Dana looked offended.
"This is a patient room, not a courtroom."
Evan stepped between them.
"No one touches it until security arrives."
Dana gave a small nod and walked out.
Claire waited until the door closed.
"She was here earlier."
Evan turned on her.
"Do not start accusing people."
"I did not accuse her."
"You were about to."
"I said she was here."
A security officer named Noah Grant arrived six minutes later carrying a tablet and a ring of access cards.
He was broad-shouldered, gray-haired, and far less impressed by Evan's anger than most people usually were.
"I was told there was an incident."
Evan pointed at the camera.
"I need the footage from this room."
Noah looked up.
"That camera covers the entrance and most of the patient area."
"Good."
Noah entered a code on the tablet.
He waited.
Then he frowned.
"That is strange."
Claire's shoulders tightened.
Evan noticed.
"What?"
Noah tapped the screen again.
"The file begins at 8:14 p.m."
Evan checked the clock on the wall.
It was 8:31.
"And before that?"
Noah did not answer immediately.
Claire did.
"Gone."
Noah looked at her.
"Fourteen minutes are missing."
The room seemed to become colder.
Evan remembered Claire's warning.
If the camera still has the recording.
"Can footage disappear by accident?" Evan asked.
Noah shook his head slowly.
"Not from only one room."
Claire crossed her arms.
"Who can delete it?"
Noah gave her a careful look.
"People with administrator-level access."
Evan felt his stomach tighten.
"How many?"
"Not many."
The doors opened again.
A tall man in a navy hospital administrator's suit walked in with a measured smile.
Victor Sloan, chief operations officer of St. Matthew Medical Center, had known Evan's family for years.
"Evan," Victor said warmly.
"I heard there was some confusion."
Noah's expression changed.
It was only a fraction of a second, but Evan saw it.
Victor looked at the broken glass.
Then at Claire.
Then at the camera.
"I am sure we can clear this up quickly."
Claire did not look reassured.
She looked at Evan.
"Ask him who has administrator access."
Evan watched Victor carefully and realized the administrator had not once asked whether Olivia was safe.
He had asked about the camera, the glass, and the people in the room, but never about the patient.
That omission settled into Evan's mind like a stone.
May you like
Claire noticed the same thing and gave him a look that said they were finally asking the same questions.
Victor's smile disappeared.
