Chapter 10 - The Old Station
The abandoned railway station had been closed for nearly twenty years.
Its entrance stood behind a chain-link fence at the edge of the industrial district, hidden beneath weeds and rusted warning signs. Rain poured across the broken pavement as Daniel, Marcus, Dr. Carter, Olivia, and two police officers approached the locked gate.
Buddy was already pulling forward.
The key from his collar opened the gate.
That frightened Daniel more than he expected.
Michael Parker had planned every step.
The platform below was silent except for water dripping from the ceiling. Old advertisements peeled from the walls. Tracks disappeared into darkness at both ends.
Buddy moved toward a narrow service tunnel marked WESTERN CLINIC.
They followed.
Inside, they discovered rooms filled with abandoned medical equipment. Empty cabinets stood open. Old patient charts covered the floor. Several doors had been welded shut.
Dr. Carter picked up one file.
“This isn’t storage.”
“What is it?” Olivia asked.
“Experimental treatment records.”
The dates reached back more than a decade.
Most patients were children.
Each file carried the logo of the Harrison Children’s Trust.
Marcus found a second list containing payments made to hospital employees, laboratory workers, and private contractors.
Thomas Bell’s name appeared near the top.
Then a child coughed somewhere ahead.
“Ethan!” Laura’s voice echoed from behind them.
Daniel spun around.
She had followed.
Before anyone could stop her, she ran toward the sound.
They entered a former examination room.
Ethan sat tied to a metal chair.
His skin looked pale, but he was conscious.
Thomas Bell stood behind him holding a small pistol.
On a table beside him rested a blue medical container.
Daniel stopped.
“We brought the box.”
Bell smiled.
“Put it down.”
Buddy growled.
Bell aimed the weapon toward the dog.
“One more step and I shoot him first.”
Ethan looked at Daniel.
“Don’t give him Dad’s letter.”
Daniel placed the black box on the floor.
Bell kicked it closer and opened it.
He removed the recorder, photographs, and financial documents.
Then he frowned.
“Where is the drive?”
“What drive?” Daniel asked.
Bell struck Ethan’s chair with the weapon.
“The data Michael stole.”
Ethan flinched.
Buddy barked furiously.
Bell turned toward the blue container.
“Michael hid the account records somewhere. He believed his son would lead us to them.”
Dr. Carter stared at the container.
“What’s inside?”
Bell’s expression became calm.
“The original compound.”
“The poison?”
“Not exactly.”
He opened the lid.
Inside were rows of sealed vials.
Dr. Carter stepped back.
“That formula was banned.”
Bell smiled.
“It was never officially tested.”
Ethan suddenly spoke.
“My dad said the medicine wasn’t made to kill people.”
Bell looked at him.
“He was right.”
The boy continued.
“It was made to make sick people look sicker.”
Silence filled the room.
Daniel understood the truth.
The foundation had not simply stolen donations.
It had created illnesses, extended treatments, and used suffering children to generate more money.
Bell lifted one vial.
“Ethan was supposed to be our final case.”
A gunshot exploded through the clinic.
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The lights shattered.
And in the darkness, someone dragged Ethan’s chair away.
