THE LAST CALL

Episode 2 The Name in the File

The operating room doors closed behind them. Amara barely had time to breathe." Move." Dr. Elias Kane was already at the operating table. The room changed the moment he stepped inside. The noise of the emergency department disappeared behind thick doors, replaced by the steady rhythm of monitors and the controlled movements of the surgical team. Everyone knew their role. Everyone moved quickly. Amara stood opposite Elias, her hands prepared, her attention fixed on the patient. Jonathan Vale. The name continued to echo in her mind. Her father's patient.

A man connected to the operation that had supposedly destroyed her father's career. And now he was lying on the operating table at St. Raphael. There had to be a reason." Dr. Adeyemi." Amara looked up. Elias was watching her." Focus." She swallowed." I'm focused." "Good. Then stop thinking about your father." Her eyes narrowed. That's easier said than done." I didn't ask what was easy." For a second, their eyes met. Then the monitor changed. The anesthetist spoke.

"Pressure is dropping." Elias immediately turned back to the operation. "Let's stabilize him."Amara followed his instructions. The next several minutes became a blur of concentration. No questions. No explanations. Just decisions. The patient had sustained serious internal injuries, and the team worked carefully to control the situation.

Amara had assisted in difficult cases before. But something about this one felt different. Perhaps it was because she knew the patient's name. Perhaps it was because Elias had looked genuinely frightened when he saw the identification card. Or perhaps it was because, for the first time since entering St. Raphael, Amara felt as though she had stepped into the past. A past she had spent years trying to escape. Clamp." Amara passed the instrument. Elias took it without looking away from the surgical field. Good." It was a small word. But coming from Elias Kane, it sounded almost like praise. Amara ignored the strange feeling it caused. She had not come to St. Raphael for praise. She had come to become a surgeon. And she had come for answers. Nearly two hours later, the situation finally stabilized. Elias stepped back." We're done." The team slowly relaxed. Amara exhaled. Jonathan had survived. For now. As the team began preparing to transfer him to intensive care, Amara looked at Elias. "Is he going to make it?" Elias removed his gloves. "If nothing unexpected happens, he has a chance." "Chance?" "Medicine doesn't come with guarantees." Amara nodded. Then she asked the question she had been holding back. "What happened eight years ago?" Elias looked at her. "What?" "My father said. Jonathan Vale. The operation." His expression became unreadable. "Not here." "Why?" Because this is an operating room." "And when can we talk?" "When I'm certain you're ready to hear the answer."Amara almost laughed." You're not my father." Elias looked at her calmly." No. I'm not." He walked away. Amara stared after him. She already disliked him. That was what she told herself. It was easier that way. Jonathan was transferred to the ICU.Amara followed the bed through the corridor. Daniel Okoro was waiting outside. He had been on another emergency case earlier that night and had only recently heard what happened."Amara." She turned. Daniel looked from her to the patient being wheeled away." What happened?" Trauma case." "I heard." His eyes narrowed. You look like you've seen a ghost." "I might have." Daniel lowered his voice." What's going on?"Amara glanced toward Elias. He was standing further down the corridor, speaking with another physician. She turned back to Daniel. Do you know Jonathan Vale?" Daniel thought for a moment. No. Have you heard the name?"" No. Should I? My father operated on him eight years ago. Daniel's expression changed." Wait." Exactly." Are you sure? That's what Elias said. Daniel looked toward the trauma surgeon. Elias told you?" "Yes. That's interesting. What? Daniel shrugged. Elias doesn't usually explain himself." Amara folded her arms. Apparently, he knows something." About your father?" Yes." Daniel became serious. Amara, maybe you should leave this alone." She stared at him. You know me better than that. That's precisely why I'm saying it. Amara looked through the ICU window. Jonathan was unconscious. Machines surrounded him. His condition appeared stable. But she knew better than to mistake stability for safety. Something happened eight years ago," she said. Daniel sighed. Probably. And everyone knows except me." Maybe.I'm going to find out. Daniel looked at her for several seconds. Then he smiled faintly. Of course, you are.At 6:43 a.m., Amara finally left the hospital.The sun had begun to rise over the city.She stood outside St. Raphael, exhausted.

She should have gone home.Instead, she opened her phone.There was one place she wanted to look.The hospital archives.Years ago, after her father's death, Amara had searched everywhere for information about his final case.Most of the documents available to her had been incomplete.Her mother had refused to discuss it.The hospital had released only a brief statement.The official conclusion had been simple.Medical complications.Unavoidable.Tragic.Amara had never believed it.She entered the hospital again.The records department was nearly empty."Can I help you?"The clerk looked up. Dr. Amara Adeyemi. The clerk searched the computer. You're new." Yes. How can I help?"I need access to an old patient file."How old? Eight years." The clerk frowned. The patient's name?" Jonathan Vale. The keyboard stopped. It was barely a second. But Amara noticed. Is there a problem? No." The clerk continued typing. Then she shook her head." I can't access it. Why?" Restricted. Restricted by whom?I don't know." Can you check? The clerk hesitated. Amara leaned closer.I needed that file for a clinical reason. It wasn't exactly true. But it wasn't entirely false either. Jonathan is currently a patient. The clerk finally printed a form. You'll need authorization." From whom?" The Chief of Surgery."Amara stared at the form. Dr. Victoria Hayes. Of course. The Chief, Amara, thanked the clerk and left. She hadn't expected the file to be easy to access. But she hadn't expected the hospital to make the situation this obvious either. Someone had deliberately restricted it. The question was why.