Chapter 5 - THE PATIENT WHO DISAPPEARED AGAIN.
Claire had crawled through a maintenance opening behind the bed while everyone argued.
The hospital room had once been connected to an old service corridor used by nurses and cleaners before renovations sealed the public entrance.
Maria knew the passage.
Victoria did not.
The same hospital that treated workers as invisible had forgotten the routes they used every night.
Maria took Lily’s hand and followed the narrow corridor.
Behind them, Marcus told police Claire had escaped during a psychotic episode.
Victoria added that Lily might be in danger.
The accusation spread through hospital radio within minutes.
Claire went from victim to suspected kidnapper without speaking to a single officer.
Inside the corridor, Lily found her mother near a locked records room.
Claire was weak but alert.
She hugged Lily briefly, then showed Maria the guardianship petition.
The filing claimed Claire had abandoned Lily after the crash.
It was dated two days earlier.
Victoria had prepared to take the child before the accident happened.
Maria used her old master key to open the records room.
Inside were hundreds of sealed patient files.
Every name belonged to a low-income family.
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Each file contained the same recommendation:
“Transfer custody pending financial review.”
