Chapter 9 - THE ESCAPE PLAN
The flight was scheduled to leave from a private airfield.
The destination was a country with complicated extradition laws.
Evelyn had arranged a charter aircraft.
She had also created a notarized letter claiming Ryan and Maya authorized her to travel with Noah.
Their signatures were forged.
Ryan stared at the papers.
“She planned to take him.”
Detective Ortiz nodded.
“The custody case may have been a backup plan.”
Maya joined the conversation by speakerphone.
“She wanted to make me look dangerous so nobody would question her.”
Ortiz examined the timeline.
“According to these notes, she planned to remove Noah from the hospital after Maya was detained for psychiatric evaluation.”
Ryan looked sick.
“She expected me to agree?”
“She expected you to be confused.”
Maya’s voice broke.
“She expected him to choose her.”
Ryan closed his eyes.
Evelyn had spent thirty-eight years training him to do exactly that.
An officer found a prepaid phone beneath the bed.
The call history showed repeated contact with someone saved as “Nurse A.”
Detective Ortiz called the number.
It was disconnected.
The forensic technician recovered deleted messages.
“Transfer during shift change.”
“Use service elevator.”
“Child should still be sedated.”
“Grandmother will provide documents.”
Ryan gripped the edge of the table.
“There’s someone inside the hospital helping her.”
Ortiz immediately contacted hospital security.
Every employee assigned to Noah’s floor was checked.
One nurse was missing.
Angela Reed had clocked in at six that morning.
She had not reported to her station.
Her locker contained cash.
A second phone.
And a photograph of Evelyn.
Maya called again.
“Ryan.”
Her voice was barely audible.
“There’s a nurse outside Noah’s room.”
Ryan looked at Ortiz.
“What does she look like?”
“Dark hair.”
“Blue scrubs.”
“She says she needs to take him for imaging.”
Ortiz grabbed the phone.
“Maya, lock the door.”
The handle moved.
Someone tried to enter.
A woman’s voice came through the phone.
“Mrs. Carter, open the door.”
“This is urgent.”
Noah began crying.
May you like
Maya backed away.
Then the lights in the hospital corridor went out.
