I’ve heard he’s in debt up to his neck. So he took the money. Whoever told me this stays unnamed. But I believe it. I feel awful for that young man.
He should have his whole life ahead of him. Please—don’t tell anyone I said any of this. I’ll lose my job, and worse. I have to get back.”
Maggie stood there stunned. She had no idea what to do next. How was she supposed to save Elijah? She scolded herself all the way home. “Great. I’ve stepped into another mess.
My own life is already complicated enough, and here I am trying to save somebody else’s.” She spent a sleepless night turning it over in her mind. But by morning one thing was clear: if she walked away, she’d never forgive herself. Elijah was her age.
Why should he die because some powerful man decided he should? It wasn’t right. At first Maggie thought about going to the police and telling them everything. But then she stopped herself. If this man had enough influence to buy off a chief physician, he probably had people in law enforcement too.
And what proof did she really have? Just the word of one nurse. No evidence. Worst of all, she had no one she could safely talk to. Then she remembered the nurse—Lena—and arranged to meet her at a coffee shop.
Lena arrived on time, curious but unsure how she could help. Maggie got right to the point. “I’m sorry to drag you into this again, but I don’t have anyone else. If I told most people this story, they’d think I’d been watching too many crime shows.
Please help me save Elijah. I want to get him out of that hospital. I can handle the driving. The problem is getting him out. He’s still sedated.” Lena thought for a moment, then said:
“Okay. Listen carefully. I’m on the night shift Wednesday. I won’t give him the next round of sedatives or hook up the IV. If I do that, he should start waking up within about a day. You pull your car around to the back entrance by the laundry dock. No cameras there.
I’ll get you a white coat, a cap, and a mask. We’ll put a badge on you so you look like staff. We’ll move him ourselves. I’m not bringing anyone else in. I don’t trust anybody there.
We’ll need a story for when they realize he’s gone. It’ll happen on my shift, and they’ll come after me hard. I could lose my job. Honestly, I’m scared. But if I stay quiet, I’m helping them kill him. I took an oath to do no harm.
And right now they’re asking me to do the opposite. So—what’s your plan after that? Where will you take him?” Maggie sighed. “I don’t really have one. I’ll bring him to my place.
There’s nowhere else. Once he’s stronger and can explain who kidnapped him and why, we’ll go straight to the district attorney. Let them sort it out. The whole thing is too strange.” They agreed. For the next three days, Maggie was so tense she could barely get through her shifts.
By the night of the plan, she was shaking. What if they got caught? What if Elijah never woke up once he was at her apartment? But there was no backing out now…
