Chapter 6 - THE PATIENT ZEROI reported Vale.

The board denied everything.

Carter disappeared before police could question him again.

Daniel was still missing.

Emily was transferred to a secure room.

And I was told to take administrative leave.

I refused.

Then another patient arrived.

Male.

Forty-two.

Found unconscious in an alley.

Severe abdominal trauma.

Fresh surgical scar.

And no identification.

The strangest thing was his wrist.

A hospital bracelet had been removed.

Underneath was a tattoo.

19.

I stared at it.

Marcus came beside me.

“Same room?”

I nodded.

We ran imaging.

His abdominal scan revealed multiple missing organs.

Not damage.

Missing.

Someone had operated on him.

Recently.

But the incision had been poorly closed.

He was septic.

We took him straight to surgery.

Before anesthesia, he grabbed my arm.

His eyes opened.

“Don't…”

I leaned closer.

“Don't what?”

“They're watching.”

“Who?”

He looked toward the ceiling camera.

“They own the hospital.”

Then he passed out.

During surgery, we discovered something terrifying.

His kidney had been removed.

His liver had been partially resected.

One of his lungs showed evidence of previous surgery.

This wasn't one operation.

It was multiple.

He had been used repeatedly.

And then discarded.

When he stabilized, I found a hidden scar near his shoulder.

Three numbers had been carved into the skin.

04-17-19.

Emily's cast date.

Room number.

Something else.

I asked the police to trace him.

His identity was eventually confirmed.

His name was Thomas Reed.

Former paramedic.

Missing for eleven months.

The detective looked at me.

“There are six more people reported missing around the same period.”

“Any connection?”

“Yes.”

They had all visited our hospital.

I felt sick.

A man walked into the hospital.

The hospital saved him.

Then, somehow, he disappeared.

And now he was back without several organs.

The system wasn't hiding a single victim.

It was manufacturing them.

That night, Thomas woke.

I sat beside him.

“Thomas, I need the truth.”

His eyes were full of fear.

“Carter isn't the one who chooses.”

“Who does?”

Thomas whispered:

“Mrs. Harris.”

I stared at him.

“Emily?”

He shook his head.

“Daniel's mother.”

I had met her before.

Once.

She'd arrived at the hospital after Emily's supposed accident.

Elegant.

Polite.

Composed.

She had stood beside Emily's bed and cried softly.

I remembered what she'd said.

“She has always been so fragile.”

Now I wondered whether that had been grief.

Or ownership.

Thomas grabbed my hand.

“She runs the list.”

“What list?”

He swallowed.

“The people who can afford to live.”

His monitor suddenly changed.

Heart rate dropping.

I shouted for help.

The team rushed in.

As I stepped back, something fell from Thomas's blanket.

A small envelope.

I opened it.

Inside was a photograph.

Daniel's mother.

Standing beside a young woman.

I recognized the woman.

It was Emily.

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