PART 2: THE SECRET HIDDEN AT HIGHWAY 70
I stared at the police officer, certain I had misheard him.
"A fake name?" I asked.
The older officer nodded.
"When paramedics arrived at the motel, your son was registered as 'Nathan Reed.'"
My heart pounded.
"That's impossible."
"We thought so too."
He handed me a photograph.
The image showed a small roadside motel off Interstate 70.
Police cars.
Ambulances.
Yellow tape.
And standing beside Room 112...
My wife.
Awake.
Looking directly into the camera.
I felt the blood drain from my face.
"No."
The officer exchanged a glance with Dr. Pierce.
"Mr. Walker, we need you to sit down."
Laura had not been unconscious when authorities arrived.
She had called 911 herself.
Then collapsed.
Everything inside me stopped.
"Why was she there?"
The officer took a slow breath.
"That's what we're trying to determine."
Before I could answer, another detective entered carrying a folder.
"We got the preliminary toxicology report."
Everyone became quiet.
The detective opened the file.
"All three victims were exposed to the same substance."
My stomach twisted.
"Poison?"
"Not exactly."
He looked at me.
"Sedatives."
My knees nearly gave out.
Someone had drugged my wife.
Drugged my son.
Drugged my brother.
But why?
Then the detective placed another photograph on the table.
This one showed the inside of the motel room.
The television.
Two beds.
An overturned chair.
And a smashed laptop.
"What is this?" I asked.
The detective pointed to the broken computer.
"That's why someone wanted them unconscious."
I frowned.
"What was on it?"
His eyes narrowed.
"Evidence."
The room seemed to tilt.
Evidence of what?
The detective opened the folder again.
Inside were financial records.
Bank transfers.
Property documents.
Company contracts.
And one name that made my heart stop.
Victor Kane.
My employer.
The owner of Kane Medical Holdings.
The same company that had recently purchased St. Mercy Hospital.
The detective watched my reaction carefully.
"You know him."
I swallowed.
"Everyone here knows him."
Victor Kane was one of the wealthiest businessmen in Colorado.
Hospitals.
Research facilities.
Private clinics.
Half the city answered to him.
The detective nodded.
"Three weeks ago, your brother Mason contacted federal investigators."
My head snapped up.
"What?"
"He discovered evidence that Kane Medical had been conducting illegal clinical trials."
I felt sick.
"No."
"We found thousands of files."
The detective slid another photograph across the table.
Mason.
Laura.
And Noah.
Leaving a storage facility together.
"They were gathering evidence."
My pulse thundered.
"Why didn't they tell me?"
The answer came from behind me.
A weak voice.
"Ethan..."
I turned.
Laura was awake.
She was sitting upright in the trauma room doorway.
Tears streamed down her face.
"I was trying to protect you."
I ran to her.
For a moment neither of us spoke.
Then she whispered the words that changed everything.
"Kane knows who we are."
The detective's phone rang.
His expression darkened immediately.
"What happened?"
The room fell silent.
When he hung up, his face had turned pale.
"They found Room 112."
My stomach dropped.
"And?"
The detective looked directly at us.
"It's been burned to the ground."
May you like
Someone was destroying every piece of evidence.
And they weren't finished yet.
