The locket wasn't in the bag, and I knew for a fact the hospital wouldn't have removed it for a simple arm X-ray unless it had been ripped off beforehand.
"Move, Trent," I said, taking a step forward.
"You can't be here," Trent said, his voice hardening as he placed a hand on my chest. "This is a private matter. You have no legal guardianship."
At that exact moment, the heavy wooden door to Room 4 cracked open just an inch.
A nurse was stepping out, carrying a clipboard.
Through that narrow opening, I heard Lily’s voice.
It wasn't the voice of a girl who had taken a clumsy tumble.
It was a frantic, breathless whisper, choked with absolute terror.
"Please," Lily begged someone inside the room. "Please don't let him sign the transfer papers. He'll kill me."
Trent slammed the door shut violently, nearly clipping the nurse’s shoulder.
He turned back to me, his jaw set, and motioned for the two hospital security guards standing at the end of the hall.
"Mr. Vance is trespassing," Trent told the guards. "Escort him out, or call the police."
The two security guards placed their hands on their radios, their eyes fixed on my leather vest.
I could have fought them.
I could have thrown Trent through the drywall, kicked the door off its hinges, and pulled Lily out of that room.
But I knew exactly how that would end.
I would be arrested for assault, Lily would be thrown into Trent’s private ambulance, and Arthur would make sure I never saw her again.
I forced my muscles to relax.
I raised my hands, palms open, and took a slow step backward.
"Alright," I said, staring directly into Trent’s cold eyes. "I'm leaving. But this isn't over."
Trent offered a smug, dismissive smile.
"Drive safely, Silas. The roads are slick tonight."
I turned my back on him and walked down the hallway, letting the heavy doors of the emergency room swing shut behind me.
I didn't go to my truck.
Instead, I walked straight to the dimly lit hospital cafeteria on the first floor, pulled out my phone, and called my vice president, Bear.
"Wake the boys up," I told him the second he answered. "All of them. Tell them to get down to County General. Arthur is trying to move Lily, and we are going to lock this place down."
"Give us twenty minutes, boss," Bear grumbled, the sound of an engine already firing up in the background.
While I waited, my phone buzzed in my hand.
I glanced at the screen and saw a text message from an unknown number.
It had been delivered over an hour ago, right around the time Lily supposedly fell, but the hospital’s thick concrete walls had delayed the signal.
The message contained only four words: The cabin. Hurry. Please.
My blood ran cold.