The Missing File
1230 Words
The elevator doors opened to the basement level of Hartwell Medical Center.
Ava stepped out beside Ethan.
The atmosphere immediately felt different.
There were no patients here. No nurses rushing through the corridors. No doctors discussing cases.
Only silence.
The Hart Foundation's private archive was located beneath the hospital's administrative building, accessible only to senior executives and authorized staff.
Ethan entered a security code.
The door unlocked.
Ava looked at him.
“How many people know this place exists?”
“Very few.”
“And you're one of them?”
“My father owns the foundation.”
“Convenient.”
Ethan gave her a sideways glance.
“You're welcome.”
She almost smiled.
Almost.
Then the lights flickered.
Ava stopped.
“Did you see that?”
Ethan immediately became alert.
“Yes.”
The lights stabilized.
He looked down the hallway.
“Stay close.”
They continued.
At the end of the corridor stood a large metal door.
Ethan entered another code.
Nothing happened.
He tried again.
Still nothing.
“That's strange.”
“What?”
“The code hasn't changed in years.”
He pulled out his phone and contacted security.
No answer.
His expression darkened.
“What's wrong?”
“The security system isn't responding.”
Ava looked around.
“Maybe we should leave.”
Ethan shook his head.
“Not yet.”
He stepped closer to the door.
Then they heard a sound behind them.
Ava turned.
A shadow disappeared around the corner.
“Ethan.”
He immediately moved in front of her.
“Stay here.”
“I'm coming with you.”
“No.”
He walked toward the corner.
Ava followed anyway.
They reached the end of the hallway, but nobody was there.
Ethan looked around.
Then he noticed something on the floor.
A small black access card.
He picked it up.
Ava recognized the name printed on it.
“Richard Carter.”
Ethan's expression hardened.
“The hospital administrator?”
“Yes.”
Ava stared at the card.
“Why would he have access to the Hart Foundation archive?”
“That is exactly what I'm going to find out.”
They returned to the archive door.
This time Ethan used the card.
The door opened.
Inside were rows of locked cabinets and shelves containing years of medical foundation records.
Ava stared in disbelief.
“How are we supposed to find one file here?”
Ethan walked toward the back.
“My mother said it was in the surgical archive.”
They searched for several minutes.
Finally, Ethan stopped.
“Found it.”
Ava hurried over.
A metal cabinet stood open.
The label read:
SURGICAL INCIDENTS — FIVE YEARS AGO
Ethan pulled out a file.
Ava's heart raced.
“Is that it?”
He opened it.
The first pages contained routine documents.
Then Ethan stopped.
“What?”
He turned the page.
Ava leaned closer.
There was a missing section.
Someone had removed several pages from the middle of the file.
Ethan's jaw tightened.
“They got here first.”
Ava looked at him.
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
She noticed something inside the folder.
A small folded piece of paper.
She pulled it out.
Ethan immediately reached for it.
“Wait.”
He unfolded it carefully.
There were only three lines.
The original medication order was never destroyed.
Lucas Vale knew where it was hidden.
Ask the person who signed the second authorization.
Ava looked at Ethan.
“Who signed it?”
He stared at the final line.
“My mother’s credentials were used.”
“But Amelia said she didn't authorize it.”
“I know.”
Ava thought for a moment.
“Then whoever did it had access to her credentials.”
Ethan nodded.
“And access to the hospital's records.”
They both became silent.
Ava's eyes moved toward the access card in Ethan's hand.
“Richard Carter.”
Ethan didn't answer.
“You think he did it?”
“I think we need evidence before accusing anyone.”
Suddenly, a loud metallic sound echoed through the archive.
The door slammed shut.
Ava spun around.
“Ethan?”
He rushed toward it.
The handle wouldn't move.
“We're locked in.”
Ava's heart began pounding.
“Can you open it?”
“I'll try.”
He entered the security code.
Nothing.
Again.
Nothing.
Ava stepped closer.
“Ethan…”
“I know.”
The emergency lights came on.
The room fell into darkness except for a faint red glow above the exit.
Ava looked at the file.
“What if they knew we'd come here?”
Ethan looked at her.
“They probably did.”
Ava's phone suddenly vibrated.
She pulled it out.
A message appeared.
You were warned.
Another message followed.
Leave the past alone.
Then a third.
Or you will become part of it.
Ava's hands trembled.
Ethan took the phone from her.
His expression changed from concern to anger.
“Whoever is doing this knows exactly where we are.”
Ava swallowed.
“Then they might be inside the building.”
Ethan looked around the dark archive.
“No.”
“What?”
“They're not trying to scare us out.”
He looked at the missing pages.
“They're trying to make sure we don't find something.”
Ava stepped closer to him.
“Then we have to find it.”
Ethan looked at her for a long moment.
“You really don't know when to stop, do you?”
“Neither do you.”
For the first time, a faint smile appeared on his face.
“No.”
A loud crash suddenly came from the other side of the door.
Ava jumped.
Ethan immediately moved in front of her.
Another crash.
Then silence.
Ethan reached for the emergency release.
Before he could press it, the archive door suddenly opened.
Richard Carter stood outside.
His face was calm.
Too calm.
“I wondered how long it would take you two to find this place,” he said.
Ethan's expression hardened.
“Why are you here?”
Carter looked at the file in Ethan's hand.
“Because you were never supposed to find it.”
Ava's heart stopped.
Ethan stepped forward.
“What happened five years ago?”
Carter's eyes shifted toward Ava.
“You should ask your mother.”
Ava froze.
“My mother?”
Carter smiled faintly.
“She knows more than she has told you.”
Then he walked away.
Ethan started after him.
But Ava grabbed his arm.
“Wait.”
He turned.
“What?”
She pointed at the file.
Something had fallen from between the remaining pages.
A photograph.
Ethan picked it up.
It showed Amelia Hart, Lucas Vale, and another man standing outside Hartwell Medical Center five years earlier.
Ava recognized the third man.
She had seen him before.
Not in the hospital.
Not in the old records.
At her mother's house.
It was the man in an old photograph Margaret had always refused to explain.
Ava stared at the picture.
“Ethan…”
“What?”
“I know him.”
Ethan's eyes widened.
“Who is he?”
Ava's voice trembled.
“He was there the night my mother came home from the hospital.”
She looked at the photograph again.
“And my mother has been hiding his identity for five years.”
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