Chapter 6 - Descent Into the Sub-Levels
Mae turned her key in the maintenance door lock with absolute silence, easing it open just wide enough for Leah and the bassinet to slip through. The air in the service stairwell smelled of old concrete, industrial detergent, and damp dust.
“Keep close to the wall,” Mae instructed, her flashlight casting a narrow, pale beam down the twisting cast-iron staircase. “The elevator shafts carry sound upward, so we take the stairs all the way down to sub-level two.”
Leah hoisted the portable bassinet carrier off its wheeled base, cradling the padded shell securely against her chest like a shield. Every step down sent a dull, throbbing ache through her healing surgical incision, but adrenaline numbed the worst of the pain. Her focus was absolute. She was no longer the anxious, gaslit wife who doubted her own instincts; she was a mother protecting her child from a pack of wolves wearing tailored suits.
As they descended past the third floor, the muffled sound of a door slamming echoed from above.
“Damn it,” Mae hissed, pausing on the landing and snapping off her flashlight. “They’re checking the rooms early.”
From somewhere above, a voice shouted—not Nathan’s, but a security guard’s gruff baritone.
“Suite 404 is empty! Repeat, the patient has left the room!”
“Move!” Mae whispered urgently, grabbing Leah’s sleeve and pulling her around the final concrete bend toward the heavy fire door marked AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY — LOADING DOCK ACCESS.
They tumbled through the door into the cavernous, dimly lit basement laundry facility. Towering rows of commercial washing machines hummed in a low, rhythmic vibration. Piles of clean, folded hospital sheets sat stacked on stainless steel pallets.
“We need to reach the delivery bay exit,” Mae said, scanning the shadows. “There’s a shift change van idling outside at the loading dock right now. If we can reach the driver—a friend of mine named Carlos—he’ll drive us straight past the security gates without asking questions.”
Before they could cross the open floor of the laundry room, the heavy steel fire door behind them banged open.
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“Over there! I saw movement!” a voice barked.
Leah’s heart leaped into her throat. Emerging from the stairwell wasn’t just a security guard—it was Nathan, looking disheveled and frantic, flanked by two burly private security officers hired by Doreen.
