Chapter 8 - The Autopsy Secret
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The hospital room titled violently. The walls felt like they were closing in, crushing the oxygen out of my lungs.
I turned my head slowly toward my oldest friend. Lena’s confident, authoritative posture had completely collapsed. Her face was as pale as the hospital sheets covering my burned body. She was backing away from my bed, her eyes wide with sheer panic.
In her trembling right hand, she was clutching a plastic hospital keycard. But it wasn't her standard staff ID. Hanging from the lanyard was a worn, blue keycard bearing my late father’s name and corporate logo.
"Lena," I gasped, the betrayal cutting deeper than the boiling oil. "Tell me he's lying. Tell me right now."
Daniel's cruel laughter echoed down the hallway as the detectives dragged him toward the elevators. Vivian was quickly handcuffed and pulled out right behind him, leaving Lena and me alone in the suffocating silence of the burn unit.
"Caroline, please," Lena stammered, tears instantly spilling over her eyelashes. "I can explain. I swear to God, I didn't want to do it. They gave me no choice."
"You signed the autopsy?" I demanded, my voice cracking, fighting through the haze of the painkillers. "My father was murdered, and you covered it up? You let me cry on your shoulder at his funeral!"
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Lena rushed to the bedside, dropping the tablet to the floor. "Malcolm Reed came to my office the night your father’s body was brought into the morgue. He didn't come alone. He brought men with guns, Caroline. He said if I didn't sign the paperwork ruling it a myocardial infarction, my daughter would have an 'accident' on her way to kindergarten the next morning."
I stared at her, my mind shattering into a million jagged pieces. The foundation of my entire reality was built on lies.
