Chapter 7: The Night Watch
### Chapter 7: The Night Watch
Arthur never took his eyes off the black sedan.
Even after it disappeared into the darkness...
Something inside him refused to settle.
Sergeant Angela Reyes arrived at the hospital less than fifteen minutes later.
She stepped out of her patrol car still wearing her duty vest.
Arthur met her outside the entrance.
"You sounded concerned."
"I am."
He pointed across the street.
"There was a black sedan parked there for almost an hour."
"The driver watched Sarah's room."
Reyes glanced toward the empty curb.
"Did you get the license plate?"
Arthur shook his head.
"He left before I could."
"What about the man inside the hospital?"
"I've already reported him to security."
Reyes nodded.
"Let's check the cameras."
---
Inside the hospital security office...
A technician rewound the surveillance footage.
The three of them watched in silence.
There he was.
The man in blue scrubs.
Walking confidently through the maternity wing.
He stopped outside Sarah's room.
Looked through the small window.
Checked both ends of the hallway.
Then...
He quietly pulled a cell phone from his pocket.
Instead of entering the room...
He took a single photograph through the glass.
Arthur leaned closer.
"Freeze it."
The technician paused the video.
The image sharpened.
The man's face was partially visible beneath a surgical cap.
Sergeant Reyes frowned.
"I've never seen him before."
The technician checked the employee database.
Nothing.
"No badge."
"No employee record."
"He doesn't work here."
Arthur's jaw tightened.
"So who was he?"
---
Two floors above...
Sarah slowly opened her eyes.
Morning sunlight filtered through the curtains.
For the first time since the fall...
The pain had eased.
A gentle knock came at the door.
"Come in."
Mrs. Hargrove entered carrying fresh flowers.
Behind her walked Dr. Emily Carter.
The obstetrician smiled warmly.
"I have good news."
Sarah instinctively placed both hands over her stomach.
"The baby?"
Dr. Carter nodded.
"Perfect heartbeat."
"Strong movement."
"No signs of distress."
Sarah closed her eyes in relief.
"Thank God."
Dr. Carter hesitated.
"There is something else."
Sarah looked up.
"Given what happened..."
"I'd like to keep you here another forty-eight hours."
Sarah nodded immediately.
"Whatever keeps her safe."
Mrs. Hargrove smiled.
"James would be proud of you."
Sarah looked down quietly.
"I hope so."
---
Meanwhile...
Across town...
The Vance Foundation boardroom had become chaotic.
Twelve directors sat around the polished oak table.
Televisions displayed nonstop coverage of Eleanor's arrest.
Stock analysts debated the future of the family's companies.
One board member finally spoke.
"If Eleanor is convicted..."
"Who controls the foundation?"
The company's legal advisor adjusted his glasses.
"Sarah Vance."
Murmurs spread around the room.
Another director frowned.
"Does she have any business experience?"
"No."
"Then we're handing billions to someone completely unprepared."
A woman sitting near the end of the table spoke calmly.
"Or perhaps..."
"...we're finally handing it to someone honest."
The room fell silent.
No one argued.
Because deep down...
Everyone knew the scandals surrounding Eleanor had been whispered about for years.
Only now...
Someone had survived long enough to expose them.
---
At the county jail...
Eleanor stared at the television mounted high on the wall.
Every channel showed the same images.
Her face.
In handcuffs.
Sarah entering the ambulance.
Arthur speaking briefly with investigators.
The news anchor announced:
"Public support continues growing for Sarah Vance after yesterday's assault. Thousands have posted messages of encouragement online."
Eleanor grabbed the remote.
Threw it across the room.
It shattered against the wall.
The correctional officer didn't react.
He simply wrote something on his clipboard.
---
That afternoon...
Arthur returned to Sarah's room.
He carried a small paper bag.
"I brought lunch."
Sarah smiled.
"You didn't have to."
"I know."
He handed her a container of homemade chicken soup.
"Mrs. Hargrove insisted."
Sarah laughed softly.
"That sounds like her."
As she lifted the spoon...
Arthur noticed something lying beneath the flowers.
An envelope.
Neither of them had seen it before.
No stamp.
No address.
Only one word written across the front.
Sarah
Arthur immediately became alert.
"Don't touch it."
He carefully picked up the envelope using a clean tissue.
"It wasn't here this morning."
Sarah frowned.
"Who brought it?"
Neither knew.
Arthur slowly opened it.
Inside...
There was no letter.
Only a photograph.
Sarah gasped.
It was an old picture.
Taken nearly a year earlier.
She and her late husband...
Standing together outside the mansion.
Both smiling.
He was gently resting one hand on her barely visible baby bump.
Across the bottom of the photograph...
Someone had written six chilling words in black ink.
She should have died too.
The room became silent.
Arthur immediately pressed the emergency call button.
Within seconds...
Hospital security rushed inside.
Sarah stared at the photograph.
Her hands began shaking uncontrollably.
Not from fear.
From realization.
"This wasn't Eleanor."
She whispered.
Arthur looked at her.
"No."
She slowly raised her eyes.
"Someone else wanted me dead."
Outside the hospital...
A black sedan rolled quietly away from the curb.
Inside...
The same unidentified man spoke into his phone.
"The message has been delivered."
A calm voice answered.
"Good."
"And Sarah?"
The man glanced once at the hospital.
"She's terrified."
There was a brief pause.
Then the voice replied coldly.
"She should be."
The call ended.
The sedan disappeared into the afternoon traffic.
And for the first time...
Arthur understood one terrifying truth.
Eleanor Vance had been dangerous.
But she might never have been the mastermind.
Someone else...
Someone still free...
May you like
Was watching every move.
To be continued...
