Chapter 6 - The Drive
Detective Bell did not plug the flash drive into a hospital computer.
He sealed it in an evidence bag and called the digital forensics unit.
Grant watched every movement.
Vanessa stopped looking at him entirely.
Claire asked the question nobody else had yet asked.
“Why would Tracy come back for it?”
Tracy began crying. “Because it isn’t mine.”
Bell leaned against the counter. “Whose is it?”
Silence.
“Ms. Nolan, right now you are the person whose credentials were used to remove an unapproved sedative from a hospital cabinet. You were then caught running from the floor where the patient was located. This is your opportunity to explain.”
Tracy wiped her face. “Grant gave it to me.”
Vanessa whispered, “Oh my God.”
Grant’s voice hardened. “She’s lying.”
Tracy pointed at him. “You said I only had to change one chart.”
Claire felt Richard’s hand settle on the bed rail.
“What chart?” Bell asked.
“Claire’s.”
“For what purpose?”
“To make it look like she’d been disoriented before she was admitted.”
Grant laughed. “This is insane.”
Tracy continued faster now. “He wanted notes in her record about paranoia, confusion, emotional instability. He said it was for a custody case.”
Claire’s chest tightened.
“Custody of Lily?”
Tracy shook her head.
“No. The baby.”
Claire stared at her.
Grant looked away.
Richard spoke slowly. “Why would he need custody of a child that hasn’t been born?”
Tracy swallowed. “Because of the trust.”
Claire knew immediately which trust.
Her late mother had created it years ago. Claire controlled the assets, but a clause gave expanded voting rights to her children at birth through a guardian structure if she became incapacitated.
“Grant wanted control through the baby,” Claire said.
Tracy nodded.
Vanessa sank into the chair beside the wall.
Bell’s phone buzzed.
He read the message twice.
“The drive has encrypted files,” he said. “But one folder name is visible.”
Claire waited.
Bell turned the phone so Richard could read it.
The folder was labeled:
PHASE TWO - AFTER DELIVERY.
Claire’s hand moved protectively over her stomach.
May you like
Then the baby monitor alarm began to chirp.
SOFT PINK
