Chapter 285
Chapter 285:
“Barely,” Vance said. “He’s on enough morphine to kill a horse. But he’s lucid. Listen carefully.” He moved closer. “Weston and Zane are in the hallway. I’m going to page them to the nurse’s station for a billing issue. That gives you a window. Get into room 2201. Once you’re inside, lock the door p>
“Got it,” Eliza nodded.
“And Eliza.” Vance’s eyes narrowed. “Watch your back. Anson has eyes everywhere. There was a nurse yesterday texting every time you moved p>
“I’m not afraid of Anson,” Eliza said.
“You should be,” Vance said, pulling open the heavy metal service door. “Go. Freight elevator to twenty-two p>
Eliza stepped into the smell of bleach and stale air. The elevator rattled as it climbed.
𝖱𝖾𝗮𝖽 𝗐і𝘁𝗁о𝘶𝗍 іnt𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘶𝗉𝘁𝘪o𝗻s 𝘰𝗇 ѕ.𝖼𝘰m
Her palms were sweating.
She didn’t know that on the fourth floor, the nurse — Anson’s spy — had already spotted Victoria arriving. She had already sent the message.
Target incoming.
The freight elevator dinged on the twenty-second floor. Eliza stepped out into a quiet corridor used by catering and janitorial staff. She peered around the corner.
The main hallway of the VIP wing was sleek and silent. She could see the door to Room 2201 at the far end. Two chairs sat outside it, empty. Vance had done his job. Weston and Zane were gone.
Eliza took a deep breath and started walking.
“Ms. Solomon p>
A nurse stepped out of a supply closet directly in front of her — petite, dark-haired, with a name tag that read Nurse Halloway.
“I’m here to see my husband,” Eliza said, trying to step around her.
“Actually, I believe you’re here for Mrs. Hyde,” the nurse said, her smile polite and synthetic. “The intake nurse sent me. Victoria is having a spell in the family lounge. She’s asking for you p>
Eliza hesitated. She looked at Dallas’s door, just twenty feet away. Then she thought of Victoria, frail and possibly in distress because of Anson’s madness.
“Where is she?” Eliza asked.
“Right in here.” The nurse pointed to a door labeled Family Consultation Room B. “Just for a moment. She needs her inhaler p>
Eliza checked her watch. She had three minutes left of Vance’s window.
“Fine,” she said. “Quickly p>
She stepped into the room. It was a small, windowless space with comfortable chairs and a coffee machine.
Victoria was there, sitting in her wheelchair, dozing. She looked perfectly calm.
“Victoria?” Eliza asked.
The door clicked shut behind her.
Then came the distinct, heavy sound of a deadbolt sliding home.
Eliza spun around and seized the handle. Locked.
“Hey!” She pounded on the door. “Open this door p>
Silence.
She pulled out her phone to call Vance.
No Service.
She stared at the bars. Zero.
“He blocked the signal,” Eliza whispered, horror breaking over her. Anson had planted a jammer nearby. This was a trap. She was trapped.
In the hospital parking lot, Weston and Zane were making their way back from the billing department, grumbling about bureaucracy.
“I still don’t understand why they needed both of us to sign one insurance form,” Weston muttered, sipping a lukewarm coffee.
“Look.” Zane stopped and pointed toward the VIP entrance.
A black Maybach had pulled up. Anson Hyde stepped out and walked around to open the passenger door.
A woman got out.