Chapter 9 - Secrets in the Bloodstream
By 5:00 AM, Patrick Ror was stabilized once again, resting deeply under heavy sedation while a rotating team of nurses monitored his vitals minute by minute. Audrey sat at the small desk inside the room, methodically reviewing the electronic medical logs and cross-referencing the morning lab panels against the previous days' charts. Something didn't add up; Patrick’s sudden potassium spike and acute electrolyte imbalance were entirely unnatural for a patient on such a strictly controlled hospital diet and medication schedule. The door clicked softly, and Callum stepped inside, holding two paper cups of black coffee, placing one quietly on the desk beside her computer.
“You’re still staring at those screens,” Callum noted softly, pulling up a chair and sitting down beside her.
“I’m looking at his lab history from the last forty-eight hours,” Audrey said without lifting her eyes from the data streams. “His potassium levels didn't just drift upward naturally, Callum. Someone introduced a concentrated supplement into his IV drip or his meal tray right around midnight.”
Callum went completely still, the dark, dangerous aura returning to his eyes with terrifying speed.
“Are you saying someone poisoned him inside this hospital?”
“I’m saying his labs show a deliberate chemical spike that matches exogenous intake,” Audrey replied, turning her monitor so he could see the highlighted discrepancies. “And given how heavily guarded this floor is, whoever did it had to either have high-level hospital clearance or someone on the inside helping them bypass security.”
Callum leaned forward, studying the numeric spikes with the analytical precision of a man accustomed to reading betrayal in business ledgers.
“Malcolm,” Callum murmured, the name dropping like lead between them. “He was here yesterday afternoon before you threw him out. He has contacts on the hospital board who owe him favors.”
“We can’t prove uncle Malcolm did it without checking the security camera logs from the west stairwell,” Audrey warned, her voice dropping to a cautious whisper. “If there’s an insider helping him, we need to catch them red-handed before they try a second attempt.”
Callum reached across the desk, his warm fingers brushing against her hand as it rested on the mouse.
“Let me handle the investigation outside these walls,” he said quietly, his voice intense and unyielding. “You protect him inside this room. Can I trust you to do that, Audrey?”
May you like
Audrey looked into his dark, searching eyes, realizing in that exact moment how far their relationship had evolved from a simple nurse-patient confrontation into a dangerous alliance.
“He’s my patient,” she said firmly, though she didn’t pull her hand away from his touch. “Nobody touches him while I’m on duty.”
