Chapter 3 - THE WOMAN IN THE PHOTOGRAPHThe emergency lights finally flickered back on.

The basement was empty.

Whoever had spoken to us was gone.

Marcus forced the door open using a metal pipe.

We ran upstairs.

Neither of us spoke until we reached the emergency department.

Then Marcus looked at me.

“We should call the police.”

“Yes.”

But before I could pick up the phone, a surgical resident rushed toward us.

“Sarah, Emily woke up.”

I ran to recovery.

Emily was pale, intubated, and heavily sedated.

The surgeon met me outside.

“She survived the debridement. Barely.”

“Her arm?”

“We saved it for now. But she's going to need multiple procedures.”

I nodded.

“Can she speak?”

“Not much.”

I entered the room.

Emily's eyes opened.

She looked at me.

Then toward the door.

She seemed afraid someone was listening.

I leaned close.

“Emily, I need you to tell me about Room Nineteen.”

Her breathing changed.

Her eyes filled with tears.

“They found it.”

“Who?”

She shook her head.

“Daniel?”

A pause.

Then:

“No.”

My stomach dropped.

“Who found it?”

She stared at me.

“The doctor.”

“What doctor?”

She whispered a name.

I almost didn't believe it.

“Dr. Michael Carter.”

Carter was one of the most respected orthopedic surgeons in the region.

He was also the surgeon listed on Emily's cast records.

I stepped backward.

“Are you sure?”

Emily nodded.

“He said… the cast was treatment.”

Her voice broke.

“But it was punishment.”

I swallowed.

“Punishment for what?”

She started crying.

“I tried to leave.”

“Leave where?”

“He said they wouldn't let me.”

“Who?”

Emily closed her eyes.

“The women.”

I felt a chill.

She continued.

“They take women who have nowhere to go.”

“What do they do?”

She opened her eyes.

“They make them disappear.”

Before I could ask another question, the door opened.

Dr. Michael Carter walked in.

He smiled at me.

“Sarah.”

I stared at him.

“Michael.”

His gaze moved to Emily.

“I heard she was awake.”

Emily immediately started shaking.

Carter noticed.

“She's confused.”

I didn't move.

“You put her in that cast.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“She fractured her radius.”

“Why wasn't there follow-up imaging?”

He paused.

“She missed her appointments.”

“She didn't miss them.”

His smile disappeared.

“You seem upset.”

“I found something in the basement.”

For the first time, his expression changed.

Only slightly.

But I saw it.

Fear.

Then his phone rang.

He looked at the screen.

“Excuse me.”

He stepped into the hallway.

Marcus appeared behind him.

“Sarah.”

I turned.

He was holding a folder.

Inside were old hospital records.

“There were twelve women admitted under Carter's care over the last three years.”

I scanned the names.

Seven had disappeared from follow-up.

Three had died.

One had been transferred.

One was Emily.

My hands went cold.

Then Marcus handed me a second page.

It was a maintenance request from eleven years ago.

The basement closure wasn't caused by water damage.

It had been sealed after a nurse was found dead inside Room Nineteen.

Her name was Megan Price.

I stared at the page.

The woman in the photograph.

The patient I had seen six months ago.

Except the report said she had died eleven years earlier.

I looked at Marcus.

“That’s impossible.”

A voice answered from behind us.

“You shouldn't have found that.”

We turned.

May you like

**“HE FINALLY LEARNED THE TRUTH ABOUT HIS BRIDE… AND WHAT HE DID NEXT LE...

THE BRIDE BEHIND THE VEILEPISODE 10WRITTEN BY RUKEVWE MERRYBLACKWOOD HOTEL & SUITES“Please. Tell me the truth.”Brianna took a...

THEY KICKED ME OUT FOR SPILLING ORANGE JUICE. 3 HOURS LATER, SOMEONE KNO...

MY PARENTS THREW ME AND MY FIVE-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER INTO A SNOWSTORM. THREE HOURS LATER, SOMEONE KNOCKED ON THEIR DOOR.It was 10:45...

I Picked Up My 19-Year-Old Daughter From Her Summer Job—Then I Saw the N...

“MOM... SHE’S MINE NOW.”I picked up my 19-year-old daughter, Sophie, after her summer job at a lakeside resort.She walked out of t...

Dr. Carter was standing there.

And he was holding a syringe.