Chapter 16 - An Old Debt Returns
Detective Harris frowned.
"Run that again."
"It's already been verified."
Collins turned the screen so Harris could read it himself.
The fingerprint belonged to...
Victor Hale.
Former orthopedic technician.
Declared dead after a warehouse fire five years earlier.
The nurse stared at the report.
"How can a dead man leave fresh fingerprints?"
"He can't."
Harris folded his arms.
"Unless..."
"...he never died."
The paramedics exchanged uneasy looks.
Outside, more police vehicles arrived.
The investigation had suddenly become much bigger than a hospital sabotage case.
Ethan quietly rubbed his forehead.
"I've heard that name before."
Everyone looked at him.
"Victor Hale?"
He nodded slowly.
"I couldn't remember where."
The detective leaned closer.
"Think."
"When Maya first became sick..."
"My mother spoke to someone on the phone."
"What did she say?"
"I only remember one sentence."
He closed his eyes.
"'Please don't let Victor know where we've gone.'"
The detectives froze.
"Your mother knew him?"
"I think so."
"Where is your mother now?"
Ethan's expression became distant.
"She disappeared."
"When?"
"Six years ago."
No one spoke.
The little girl looked confused.
"Did she leave?"
Ethan answered honestly.
"I don't know."
"My father told everyone she abandoned us."
"But I never believed him."
The bus driver suddenly remembered something.
"Wait."
Everyone turned toward him.
"I've seen Victor Hale's photograph."
"Where?"
"In the newspaper."
"When the warehouse burned down."
"He wasn't the only victim."
Detective Harris nodded slowly.
"There were three."
The driver frowned.
"I remember because..."
He stopped speaking.
"Because what?"
"The fire started inside a medical equipment company."
The detectives looked at one another.
Medical equipment.
Orthopedic braces.
Hospital contracts.
Sabotaged surgical devices.
The pieces were beginning to connect.
Just then, Ethan's phone rang again.
This time, the caller ID simply displayed:
UNKNOWN.
He hesitated.
Detective Harris nodded.
"Answer it."
Ethan placed the call on speaker.
For several seconds...
Only silence.
Then a calm male voice spoke.
"I see you're still alive."
The line immediately disconnected.
No one inside the bus moved.
The caller had confirmed one thing.
Whoever was hunting Ethan...
May you like
Was still watching.
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