Chapter 5: The Missing Flash Drive
Chapter 5: The Missing Flash Drive
The hospital's overnight security shift had barely begun when an alert flashed across the surveillance control room.
AUTHORIZED FILE ACCESS DETECTED.
Security technician Ethan Morales frowned.
"That's strange."
He opened the activity log.
A copy of the surveillance archive from the VIP floor had been accessed less than ten minutes earlier.
No one had scheduled an evidence review.
Ethan immediately called Daniel Reyes.
"Chief, I think we have a problem."
Daniel arrived within minutes.
"What happened?"
Ethan replayed the computer logs.
"The footage was opened from Terminal Four."
"Who was logged in?"
"Nurse Supervisor Angela Morris."
Daniel frowned.
"Angela has no reason to access criminal evidence."
He picked up his radio.
"Seal the surveillance office."
Two security officers hurried to the room.
Daniel checked the evidence cabinet.
The original encrypted hard drive was still locked inside.
But something else was missing.
"The backup flash drive."
Ethan's stomach dropped.
"The one we created for the detectives?"
Daniel nodded.
"It was here an hour ago."
Meanwhile, Detective Laura Bennett received Daniel's call while driving back to the police station.
"We have a stolen evidence backup."
She immediately pulled into the hospital parking garage.
"I'm on my way."
The hospital's security team reviewed hallway cameras.
Terminal Four came into view.
At 9:17 p.m., Nurse Angela Morris entered the room.
At 9:21 p.m., she left.
Four minutes later, another employee entered wearing a surgical mask and carrying a housekeeping cart.
The employee remained inside for less than sixty seconds.
Then disappeared into a staff-only hallway.
Detective Bennett paused the video.
"Zoom in."
The image sharpened.
The ID badge was turned backward.
The employee never looked directly at the camera.
Professional.
Deliberate.
Almost as if they knew exactly where every surveillance camera was located.
Daniel crossed his arms.
"This wasn't random theft."
"No."
"They came specifically for the backup."
Angela Morris sat nervously inside an interview room.
"I swear, I didn't take anything."
Detective Bennett remained calm.
"Why were you in the surveillance office?"
Angela took a shaky breath.
"I received a phone call."
"From whom?"
"I don't know."
"The caller said Chairman Carter needed patient footage reviewed immediately."
"You believed them?"
"The caller knew my employee ID... and my supervisor's name."
Detective Bennett exchanged a glance with Daniel.
Someone inside the hospital had shared confidential information.
Angela continued.
"When I got there, no one was waiting."
"So you left."
"Yes."
"And then?"
"I went back to my unit."
She looked ready to cry.
"I didn't even know there was evidence in that room."
Detective Bennett believed her.
The fear in Angela's eyes wasn't guilt.
It was confusion.
Upstairs, Khloe had finally been allowed to sit beside the window.
Rain still covered the glass, turning the city lights into shimmering colors.
Marcus handed her a warm cup of tea.
"Feeling better?"
"A little."
She smiled weakly.
"I almost forgot what fresh air looks like."
Marcus chuckled.
"The doctor said no escaping."
"I wasn't planning to."
She grew quiet.
"Marcus..."
"What is it?"
"I've been thinking."
He listened.
"Isabella hated me."
"Yes."
"But I don't think she hated me enough to risk prison."
Marcus looked at her carefully.
"What are you saying?"
"I think someone convinced her she would never get caught."
Marcus didn't answer immediately.
Because the thought had crossed his own mind.
Just then, his phone rang.
It was Detective Bennett.
Marcus stepped into the hallway.
"Detective."
"We've had another development."
"What happened?"
"Someone stole a backup copy of the surveillance footage."
Marcus froze.
"Do they still have the original?"
"Yes."
"But whoever took the backup clearly knew exactly what they were looking for."
Marcus's expression darkened.
"So someone else is involved."
"That's becoming more likely."
"I'll come downstairs."
"No."
She hesitated.
"Stay with your wife."
"We'll handle this."
Marcus ended the call but couldn't shake the growing feeling that the attack had been planned by more than one person.
Later that night, Chairman William Carter gathered his executive staff.
The conference room was unusually quiet.
William stood at the head of the table.
"We have a security breach."
No one spoke.
"Until further notice, every executive access card will be deactivated."
Several administrators looked surprised.
"Even mine," William continued.
"We'll issue temporary credentials after individual verification."
One board member frowned.
"Isn't that excessive?"
William looked directly at him.
"My niece was nearly killed."
The room fell silent.
"No precaution is excessive."
After the meeting, Daniel Reyes approached William privately.
"We finished reviewing employee records."
"Find anything?"
"Maybe."
Daniel handed him a personnel file.
William studied the photograph.
Michael Donovan.
Age thirty-eight.
Information Technology Specialist.
Employed for six years.
"What about him?"
"He resigned yesterday."
William looked up.
"Yesterday?"
"His resignation email was submitted two hours before the gala."
"Did he actually leave?"
Daniel shook his head.
"No one can account for where he was during the attack."
William slowly closed the file.
"Find him."
"We're trying."
"But here's the strange part."
Daniel placed another sheet of paper on the desk.
Michael Donovan had listed an emergency contact.
The name made William's blood run cold.
Isabella Rossi.
Across town, in a modest apartment that appeared abandoned, Michael Donovan sat in complete darkness.
The stolen flash drive rested on the kitchen table.
His hands trembled as he plugged it into a laptop.
Several video files appeared.
VIP Suite 7.
Private Elevator.
Executive Hallway.
He opened the final folder.
Instead of surveillance footage, he found something unexpected.
A hidden document.
Its title read:
CONFIDENTIAL PATERNITY REPORT
Michael frowned.
"I didn't copy this..."
He clicked the file.
His eyes widened as he read the first page.
"No..."
This wasn't evidence about the assault.
It was a sealed medical report from seven years earlier.
A report that revealed a secret someone had spent years hiding.
Before Michael could read another line, his phone buzzed.
A text message from an unknown number appeared.
Don't open the file. Destroy the drive immediately.
Michael looked around the empty apartment.
No one should have known he had the flash drive.
May you like
Yet somehow...
Someone was watching him.
