Chapter 3 - The Boardroom Shield
Natalie stood up slowly, her hand resting naturally near her utility belt. "Dr. Vance. You're the prescribing physician on Ashley Miller's medical file."
"I am," Vance said, stepping past Eric without acknowledging him. He looked down at Ashley with a practiced, artificial smile that didn't reach his cold eyes. "I have been overseeing Ashley’s specialized treatment for her rare metabolic disorder for over six months. Under the hospital's private clinical trial protocol, I am her legal medical guardian while her father is missing."
"Her father isn't missing, Doctor," Natalie said, stepping directly between Vance and the bed. "His truck was forced off the road at Dead Man’s Curve. And we just found evidence of a second vehicle at the scene."
Vance’s left eye twitched once, a subtle fracture in his polished facade. "A tragic accident brought on by severe weather and reckless driving, no doubt. Andrew Miller was under immense financial stress. He was unhinged, Officer."
"Is that why you were shouting at him in his kitchen on Thursday?" Eric asked from his chair, holding Vance’s cold gaze. "Demanding a black notebook?"
Vance turned his head slowly toward Eric, looking at him as if he were a piece of dirt stuck to his shoe. "And who are you supposed to be? A civilian sitting in an intensive care unit without administrative clearance?"
"He's the 911 operator who saved this little girl's life while your clinic was busy failing to report her acute toxicity," Natalie said, her voice dropping into a dangerously cold register. "Dr. Vance, this room is an active crime scene under the authority of the County Sheriff’s Department. You are going to step back into the hallway right now."
Vance smiled thin-lipped, pulling an official court document from his leather briefcase. "I brought an emergency protective custody order signed by Judge Holbrook thirty minutes ago. Until Andrew Miller is located or pronounced deceased, Vanguard Pharmaceuticals holds full medical guardianship over Ashley Miller to preserve her trial protocol."
He handed the paper toward Natalie, but before she could take it, Natalie’s radio crackled loudly.
"Unit 4, be advised!" Dispatch’s voice echoed into the room. "We have a 911 call coming from a roadhouse on Highway 9, four miles east of the crash site! A night clerk reports an injured male matching the description of Andrew Miller locked inside his storage shed!"
Vance’s face went completely gray.
Natalie didn't wait. She looked at Eric. "Stay in this room. Do not let anyone touch that child or that toy until I get back with a federal warrant."
"I won't leave her side," Eric said firmly, positioning his heavy chair directly beside the head of the bed.
May you like
Natalie looked Vance dead in the eye. "If you try to move this child, Doctor, I will have you in handcuffs before you reach the elevator."
She turned and sprinted out of the room, her boots clicking loudly against the polished linoleum floor as she headed for the stairwell.
