Chapter 5 - The Saboteur in the OR
The next afternoon, the disaster struck.
My phone rang with an unknown number. Against my better judgment, I answered. It wasn't Adrian—it was Dr. Sarah Lin, a pediatric resident at the hospital and one of the few people I trusted.
"Ava! You need to tell Ethan to stop!" Sarah cried out, panic laced through her voice. "Dr. Vaughn just walked into Operating Room 4. He’s performing a high-risk arterial switch on a five-year-old girl named Lily!"
"What?!" I dropped to my feet. "Ethan had his medical privileges suspended pending the board review!"
"He produced a court injunction!" Sarah sobbed. "He claimed the board's suspension was an illegal act of retaliation funded by Carter Industries. He told the media outside that he was saving a child despite Ethan Carter’s personal vendetta. But Ava... he’s unhinged today. His hands are shaking. He’s going to kill this girl just to prove a point and frame Ethan's delayed equipment for the failure!"
I burst into Ethan’s office without knocking. "Ethan! We have to go to the hospital right now!"
Ten minutes later, Ethan’s armored SUV was tearing through red lights, escorted by security. My pulse roared in my ears. Adrian had backed himself into a corner, and a cornered predator would burn down the entire forest just to escape the fire.
When we sprinted through the doors of the surgical wing, news crews were already crammed into the lobby. Adrian had alerted them himself. He wanted an audience for his final, twisted masterpiece.
May you like
Ethan pushed past the security guards stationed outside the observation gallery overlooking Operating Room 4. Below us, behind the thick glass panel, Adrian stood over the open chest of a small child, his surgical mask hiding his face, but his eyes cold and fixed on the gallery above.
He raised his head, looking directly at Ethan and me through the glass. Then, he deliberately reached for a bypass valve, preparing to cut the life support flow.
