CHAPTER 6 – THE SECRET RECORDING
CHAPTER 6 – THE SECRET RECORDING
The next morning, the hospital was under federal protection.
Two armed marshals stood outside my recovery suite.
Every visitor was screened.
Every hallway monitored.
By sunrise, the story had already reached the national news.
Federal Judge Survives Suspected Murder Plot During Childbirth.
Outside the hospital, reporters filled the sidewalks.
Inside...
The real battle had only begun.
At 8:17 A.M., Agent Monroe rushed into my room carrying a sealed evidence bag.
"We found Amanda."
Every conversation stopped.
"Alive?"
Monroe nodded.
"Barely."
Amanda Collins had been discovered unconscious inside an abandoned lakeside cabin nearly eighty miles outside Dallas.
She had been sedated.
Her wrists were tied.
Whoever hid her clearly intended for investigators to believe she had fled the country.
Instead...
She had become another victim.
Doctors stabilized Amanda long enough for federal agents to question her.
The interview was recorded live.
Everyone watched from the hospital conference room.
Amanda looked terrified.
She couldn't stop crying.
"I never wanted anyone to die."
Agent Monroe remained calm.
"Tell us what happened."
Amanda wiped her eyes.
"Margaret hired me six months ago."
"She said it was just information."
"What information?"
"Medical appointments."
"Pregnancy updates."
"Delivery schedules."
The room grew quiet.
Then Amanda whispered,
"I tried to quit."
"What changed?"
Her entire body began shaking.
"She showed me photographs."
"What photographs?"
"My son."
Silence.
"My eight-year-old son."
"Leaving school."
"Playing soccer."
"Sleeping in his bedroom."
Tears streamed down Amanda's face.
"She said accidents happen to children every day."
A cold rage settled over me.
Margaret hadn't merely bribed people.
She blackmailed them.
Amanda continued.
"I never poisoned anyone."
"I only changed one medication order."
"I thought it would make the delivery happen earlier."
Agent Monroe leaned forward.
"Who told you that?"
Amanda answered without hesitation.
"Dr. Leonard Pierce."
Every investigator in the room froze.
Dr. Pierce.
The hospital's Chief of Anesthesiology.
One of the most respected physicians in Texas.
"He said he'd handle the rest."
Ruiz immediately barked,
"Arrest him."
But another agent's phone rang before anyone could move.
He answered.
Then looked slowly toward the room.
"Too late."
"What happened?"
"Dr. Pierce was found dead in his office."
"Suicide?"
The agent swallowed.
"No."
"He was executed."
A single gunshot.
Professional.
No fingerprints.
No weapon.
Whoever was orchestrating this conspiracy was now eliminating witnesses.
Amanda wasn't the last loose end.
She was simply the only one investigators had reached in time.
As I held Noah and Nora close against my chest, one terrifying realization settled over me.
Margaret Whitmore had never been the mastermind.
She had only been one player.
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Someone far more powerful was still out there...
And they had just declared war on everyone trying to uncover the truth.
