CHAPTER 5 — The Nurse Who Was Never a Nurse
Emily barely slept.
The photograph lay on her bedside table like a warning from the dead.
She pressed the emergency call button, but when the night nurse entered, something immediately felt wrong.
Emily had spent seven years in that hospital.
She recognized almost every familiar face.
This woman...
She had never seen before.
"Can I help you sleep, Mrs. Carter?" the nurse asked with an unnaturally warm smile.
She held up a syringe.
Emily's heart began pounding.
"What medication is that?" she asked.
The nurse glanced at the label for only a second before hiding it in her pocket.
"Just something to help you rest."
Emily noticed something even stranger.
The woman wasn't wearing a hospital ID badge.
Before Emily could react, the "nurse" suddenly locked the door.
Click.
The room fell silent.
She slowly walked toward the bed, lifting the syringe.
"You really should have stayed asleep," she whispered.
Emily reached for the call button—
But the woman ripped the cord from the wall.
The heart monitor alarm screamed.
The fake nurse lunged forward.
Just as the needle was inches from Emily's neck...
The hospital room door exploded open.
Detective Mason and two officers tackled the woman to the floor.
The syringe rolled across the room.
A forensic technician quickly tested its contents.
Everyone froze.
It wasn't medicine.
It was a lethal dose of potassium chloride—an injection capable of stopping Emily's heart within minutes while appearing like a natural cardiac arrest.
The woman laughed as officers handcuffed her.
"You think you've won?"
Detective Mason grabbed her by the shoulders.
"Who sent you?"
She smiled without fear.
"You'll never catch him."
Then she looked directly at Emily.
"Richard was never the one in charge."
The room went silent.
Emily felt the blood drain from her face.
"If Richard wasn't the mastermind..."
"...then who was?"
Before anyone could ask another question, the fake nurse bit down on something hidden inside her mouth.
Within seconds, foam appeared on her lips.
She collapsed to the floor.
Dead.
No confession.
No answers.
Only one clue remained.
Inside her uniform pocket, detectives discovered a gold key engraved with three chilling words:
PROPERTY OF CARTER FOUNDATION
Emily stared at the key in disbelief.
The Carter Foundation had been created by her late father.
It had been permanently closed...
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Seven years ago.
Or so everyone believed.
