Chapter 3 - The Discharge Order
"Bleeding where?" Emily asked.
"Between the placenta and the wall of the uterus," Dr. Chen said. "Sometimes an injury can cause separation. I don't know the extent yet. We'll keep monitoring closely."
Emily's hand tightened around the bedrail. She could handle pain. Uncertainty was worse. It gave her nowhere to put her fear.
Rebecca adjusted the monitor and turned down the harsh ceiling light. "Tell me if you feel contractions, dizziness, or anything new. Even if it seems small."
From the hallway came Preston's voice: polished, furious. "I'm the hospital president. You cannot lock me out of a patient room."
"You can speak to our legal department," Raymond answered.
Emily closed her eyes. She remembered Preston once bringing soup to her in the rain, back when he still asked whether she'd eaten. She remembered him rubbing her feet during the first month of pregnancy. Had those moments been love? Or had she only been useful then?
Her phone buzzed. PRESTON: Be smart. Tell them Vanessa slipped. We can go home and forget this.
She turned the screen toward Rebecca. "Please keep a copy."
Rebecca photographed the message with Emily's permission. "We can document your statement, too. You decide what you want to say."
Raymond came in with hospital counsel on speakerphone. He didn't touch Emily until she reached for his hand.
"I should have come sooner," he said.
"I should have called sooner."
"No. You were trying to keep your family together. He used that against you."
A young resident hurried through the door carrying a tablet. "Dr. Chen? I'm sorry. Something's wrong with this chart."
He turned it around. A discharge order had been entered twenty minutes earlier. It said Emily had declined examination, denied being struck, and requested immediate transport to a private clinic. Below the order appeared an electronic nursing signature.
Rebecca went white. "That's my employee ID. I never entered it."
"Can somebody fake that?" Emily asked.
"With stolen access," Raymond said. "Or help from inside."
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Dr. Chen canceled the order and initiated an audit trail. On the next screen, a time stamp appeared beside the original request.
It had been created eleven minutes before Vanessa kicked Emily.
