Chapter 3 - THE WRONG MEDICATION
Elise stabilized after six terrifying minutes.
Noah’s alarm resulted from a loose sensor.
His heart remained steady.
Elise had received a medication concentration nearly twice the ordered amount.
The hospital pharmacy record showed the correct bag had been prepared.
Someone switched it after delivery to the NICU.
The barcode scanner had also been bypassed.
The chief medical officer ordered an immediate internal lockdown.
Every employee who entered the unit was identified.
The security footage showed nurses.
Respiratory therapists.
A pharmacy technician.
Then Grant.
He entered the supply alcove fourteen minutes before walking into my room with Vanessa.
The camera angle did not show his hands.
It only showed him inside an area where visitors were not allowed.
Theodore watched the footage without speaking.
I looked at Grant.
“Why were you in there?”
He shook his head.
“I was looking for the restroom.”
“The restroom is in the opposite direction,” Lily said.
“I got confused.”
“You have visited this floor before.”
Grant’s voice sharpened.
“Are you accusing me of poisoning my own daughter?”
The word poisoning made my stomach turn.
The chief medical officer remained precise.
“We are investigating unauthorized access.”
Vanessa slowly moved away from Grant.
He noticed.
“Do not start.”
“I did not know you went into that room,” she said.
“It means nothing.”
My grandfather looked toward hospital security.
“Call the police.”
Grant laughed in disbelief.
“You cannot seriously think I touched the medication.”
Theodore did not answer.
He was looking at the divorce agreement.
Security had finally obtained a copy from the folder.
My grandfather’s personal attorney arrived within minutes.
Her name was Helen Ross.
She had represented the Vale family for almost thirty years.
She read the papers beside my bed.
Then she looked at me.
“You signed every page?”
“Yes.”
“Did Grant sign first?”
“Yes.”
“Did Vanessa witness the agreement?”
Vanessa’s lips parted.
Her signature appeared on the final page as a witness.
Helen’s expression became almost amused.
Grant saw it.
“What?”
She placed the agreement on the table.
“Your proposed settlement states that each party keeps property currently titled in that party’s individual name.”
“That was the point.”
“You listed Whitmore Medical Supply as your property.”
“I founded the company.”
I looked at him.
“We founded it.”
“Your name is not on the operating license.”
“No.”
“My family trust owns the patents.”
Grant stopped breathing.
Helen continued.
“The manufacturing equipment is leased from Vale Industrial Capital.”
“The startup loan is secured by Grant’s personal guarantee.”
“The hospital contracts contain immediate termination clauses for ethical violations or harm to patients.”
Grant stared at me.
“You said the financing came from a small trust.”
“I said my family provided early financing.”
“You assumed the rest.”
Helen turned another page.
“You also waived any claim against Emma’s separate family assets.”
“She has no assets.”
My grandfather finally smiled.
It was not a kind smile.
“Emma owns twelve percent of Vale Health Holdings.”
Grant looked toward the hospital president.
Theodore continued.
“That company controls forty-seven hospitals.”
“Six medical laboratories.”
“Three insurance firms.”
“And the largest neonatal research foundation in the region.”
Vanessa sat down.
Theodore looked at Grant.
“You emptied a joint account worth eighty thousand dollars.”
“In exchange, you signed away any claim to assets worth more than your mind can calculate.”
Grant’s face hardened.
“I will challenge the agreement.”
Helen nodded.
“You may.”
“After explaining why you presented it to a medicated patient beside two critically ill infants.”
A police officer entered the NICU.
Then another.
The first officer looked at Grant.
“We need to discuss your access to the medication room.”
May you like
Grant turned toward Vanessa.
She would not meet his eyes.
