Chapter 8 - The Transfer Order.
Emma did not panic when she saw the transfer order.
That frightened Claire too.
Fear had moved somewhere deeper.
"Can they still move me?"
Reyes answered immediately.
"No."
Emma looked at her.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Reyes held the document.
"This order depends on a hold that is already under formal review, and you've clearly revoked any voluntary consent."
Pike added, "Mercy General will not execute the transfer."
Claire looked at him.
"You said that very quickly."
His face tightened.
"I should have said it much earlier."
At 6:02 p.m., Eleanor returned.
She walked onto the seventh floor as if nothing had changed.
Her burgundy handbag was on her arm.
Her blonde hair remained perfect.
A lawyer followed her.
So did the private security guard from earlier.
The city officers stepped into the hallway.
Eleanor stopped.
"This is becoming absurd."
Claire stood outside Emma's room.
"What part?"
"My future daughter-in-law is being manipulated during a health crisis."
Emma appeared behind Claire.
"I'm not your future daughter-in-law."
Adrian, standing near the nurses' station, heard her.
His face tightened.
Eleanor ignored him.
"Emma, you are not well."
Emma's hands trembled.
Her voice did not.
"I was well enough for you to want my signature."
Eleanor's lawyer leaned toward her.
She brushed him off.
Claire saw the moment arrogance overcame caution.
"You have no idea what is at stake."
Emma looked at her.
"My shares?"
Eleanor's eyes flickered.
Only once.
But everyone saw it.
Claire said, "Thank you."
Eleanor turned.
"For what?"
"For answering."
The lawyer closed his eyes.
Alvarez stepped forward.
"Mrs. Vale, I'd like to speak with you voluntarily."
"I have nothing to say."
"That's your right."
Eleanor looked at the transfer order in Reyes's hand.
"What is that?"
Reyes smiled without warmth.
"You tell us."
Eleanor's face finally changed.
The administrator's phone rang.
Pike answered.
His expression sharpened.
"No."
He listened.
"No transfer is authorized."
Then he looked toward the elevator.
"Who sent them?"
The doors opened.
Two medical transport employees stepped out with an empty wheelchair.
One held a clipboard.
"Transfer for Emma Bennett."
The entire hallway went still.
Pike walked toward them.
"Cancelled."
The employee checked his tablet.
"We have a signed authorization."
"By whom?"
He turned the screen.
The signature belonged to Dr. Nathan Mercer.
Emma stepped backward into Claire.
Claire felt her shaking.
Mercer had not been seen since morning.
Alvarez took the employees aside.
Their dispatch record showed the transfer had been requested at 3:40 p.m.
That was after Emma's hold had come under challenge.
Someone was still trying to move her.
Eleanor's lawyer whispered urgently.
Eleanor did not respond.
Instead, she looked at Emma.
The smugness was gone.
What remained was colder.
"You are making a terrible mistake."
Claire stepped between them.
"No."
Emma moved beside her mother.
For the first time, she did not hide behind her.
"I made the mistake when I thought you wanted me in your family."
Eleanor's mouth tightened.
A notification sounded from Adrian's phone.
He stared at it.
Then showed it to Alvarez.
A message from Dr. Mercer.
I'M DONE.
THE ORIGINAL RECORDING IS IN THE CLOUD FOLDER.
ELEANOR SAID THIS WOULD ONLY BE PAPERWORK.
Alvarez looked at Adrian.
"What cloud folder?"
Adrian's face went blank.
May you like
Then he whispered,
"The one my mother made me share with her before the engagement."
