Chương 6
“Don’t.”
The word was quiet.
Caleb looked at her.
“What?”
“Don’t just walk down there.”
She was right.
He knew she was right.
But then the nurse added one sentence.
“He said he was the person who signed Lily’s original paperwork.”
Caleb went still.
Because there was only one person who could know that.
Someone inside the hospital.
Someone who had access to the records.
Someone who had been waiting for him to find the truth.
Dr. Han looked at Caleb.
“Do not go alone.”
For once, Caleb did not argue.
He looked at Lily.
She was watching him.
“Daddy.”
He walked back to her.
“What?”
“Are you going to leave?”
The question hurt more than anything else.
He crouched beside her.
“No.”
“You promise?”
He looked at her.
The old Caleb would have promised anything.
Anything to make fear disappear.
But he had learned promises mattered.
So he answered carefully.
“I promise I’m coming back.”
Lily studied his face.
Then nodded.
“That’s different.”
Caleb swallowed.
“Yeah.”
She touched the edge of his rainbow wig.
“You better keep the stupid hair.”
A small laugh escaped him.
“Deal.”
He stood.
And for the first time since entering the hospital that morning, Caleb Mercer walked toward the unknown without trying to look fearless.
He walked knowing he was afraid.
And that was somehow worse.
Because fear meant he finally understood what was at stake.
The elevator doors opened on the first floor.
Caleb stepped out.
He expected someone waiting near the entrance.
A person watching him.
A person looking nervous.
A person who knew exactly why he was there.
Instead, there were only ordinary hospital things.
A woman arguing quietly with an insurance representative.
A father holding a sleeping baby against his shoulder.
An elderly man struggling with a vending machine that had stolen his snack.
The world had not stopped because Caleb’s life had changed.
That bothered him.
He wanted everything around him to acknowledge that something terrible might be happening.
But the hospital kept moving.
People walked.
Phones rang.
Shoes squeaked against polished floors.
A volunteer pushed a cart of blankets toward the elevators.
Caleb stood there for a moment, feeling strangely lost.
Then he saw the card in his hand.
No name.
No department.
Only a handwritten room number.
Conference room B.
He looked back toward the elevators.
For most of his life, Caleb trusted instinct.
It had helped him survive.
It had helped him build a business.
It had helped him know when someone was lying.
But lately, his instincts had become harder to understand.
Sometimes they were warnings.
Sometimes they were fear.
He walked toward the conference rooms.
Not quickly.
Not like someone looking for a fight.
Because Lily had seen him.
And he had promised.
The hallway became quieter as he moved away from the public areas.
Conference room B was near an empty waiting area.
The door was closed.
Caleb stopped outside.
He listened.
Nothing.
He knocked once.
No answer.
He knocked again.
A voice came from inside.
“Come in.”
Caleb opened the door.
The man sitting at the table was older than he expected.
Maybe early sixties.
Gray hair.
Thin glasses.
A brown jacket that looked like it had been worn too many times.
He was not threatening.
That almost made Caleb more uncomfortable.
People who wanted to hurt you usually looked like they wanted to hurt you.
This man looked tired.
“Caleb Mercer?”
“Yes.”
The man nodded.
“Sit down.”
Caleb stayed standing.
The man sighed.
“I figured you’d do that.”
“Who are you?”
“My name is Daniel Price.”
Caleb waited.
Nothing else came.
“That’s supposed to mean something?”
Daniel looked down.
“Not anymore.”
The answer caught him off guard.
Caleb pulled out the chair but did not sit.
“How do you know about the paperwork?”
Daniel folded his hands.
“Because I was there.”
“When?”
“The night Lily was admitted.”
Caleb stared.
The memories from that night were broken pieces.
Bright lights.
People moving quickly.
Rachel crying.
A doctor saying words he could not process.
“Why don’t I remember you?”
Daniel looked at the table.
“Because you had more important things to remember.”
That answer annoyed Caleb.
Not because it was wrong.
Because it was probably true.
“What did I sign?”
Daniel took a breath.
“You signed permission for the hospital to access outside medical records.”
Caleb frowned.
“That’s it?”
“No.”
The room became still.
Daniel reached into a folder.
“I need you to understand something before you see this.”
Caleb looked at the folder.
“Why?”
“Because once you see it, you can’t pretend you don’t know.”
Caleb almost laughed.
“I haven’t been pretending anything for six months.”
Daniel looked at him.
“Yes, you have.”
The sentence hit harder than Caleb expected.
“What does that mean?”
“It means you have been surviving.”
Daniel opened the folder.
“Surviving is different from knowing.”
Caleb said nothing.
Daniel removed a copy of a document.
“This is the form you signed.”
Caleb looked at it.
His signature was there.
The date was there.
Everything looked normal.
Then Daniel pointed to a section near the bottom.
“This part was added later.”
Caleb leaned closer.
“What?”
“A supplemental authorization.”
“Added after I signed?”
“Yes.”
“By who?”
Daniel looked at him.
“That’s the question.”
Caleb felt his hands tighten.
“Why are you showing me this?”
“Because I made a mistake.”
The answer was so direct that Caleb did not know what to do with it.
“What mistake?”
Daniel removed his glasses.
“I approved the addition.”
The room changed.
Caleb stared.
“You?”
“Yes.”
“You altered a medical document?”
“No.”
Daniel’s voice sharpened.
“I added information after receiving approval from my supervisor.”
“Who?”
Daniel looked away.
“I can’t say yet.”
Caleb stood.
“Then why am I here?”
“Because someone wants you to believe the wrong person is responsible.”
The words sounded familiar.
Almost exactly like Dr. Han’s warning.
Caleb noticed.
“You know Dr. Han.”
“Yes.”
“You know she’s investigating.”
“Yes.”
“Then why tell me not to trust her?”
May you like
Daniel looked confused.
“I didn’t.”
