Patient exhibits severe paranoid delusions. Threats of self-harm. Unfit to care for minor dependent. Recommendation: 72-hour involuntary psychiatric hold, pending long-term transfer to a secure facility.
At the bottom of the page was Dr. Evans’s signature.
But it was the timestamp next to the signature that made Maya’s breath catch in her throat.
1:15 PM.
Maya stared at the clock on the wall. It was 3:45 PM. She hadn't even arrived at the hospital until 2:30 PM. Dr. Evans had signed her involuntary commitment papers an hour before she even walked through the front doors. It was completely premeditated.
And at the very bottom of the page, under the section labeled "Emergency Contact and Temporary Guardian," Eleanor Vance’s name was printed in bold black ink.
"Mommy?" Chloe whispered, tugging at Maya’s gown. "Are they going to put you in a cage?"
"No," Maya said, her voice hardening. The grogginess was completely gone, burned away by a fierce, protective rage. "Nobody is putting me anywhere."
Suddenly, the intercom on the wall crackled to life. A robotic voice echoed through the room.
“Attention staff. Code Green, Ward Four. Patient elopement. Secure all perimeter doors.”
Maya dropped the clipboard onto the bed. They had to move. Now.
She grabbed Chloe’s hand and cracked the heavy hospital door open. The corridor was empty for the moment, bathed in harsh fluorescent light. Down to the left was the nurses' station, where Maya could see two staff members frantically picking up phones. To the right was a heavy set of double doors leading to the stairwell.
"Stay right behind me," Maya whispered.
She slipped out of the room, her bare feet making no sound on the cold floor. She kept her body low, using the medication carts parked along the wall for cover. Chloe shadowed her perfectly, her small face set in grim determination.
They reached the double doors. Maya pushed against the metal crash bar.
It didn't budge.
She pushed harder. Nothing. A small electronic keypad on the wall glowed with a solid red light. The doors were magnetically sealed.
"It's locked," Maya breathed, panic beginning to claw at her throat.
"Excuse me," a voice said from directly behind them.
Maya whipped around, throwing her body entirely in front of Chloe.
Standing a few feet away was a nurse. Not the one who had been in the room earlier, but a younger woman with tired eyes and a green stethoscope draped around her neck. She was holding a stack of fresh towels.
Maya backed up against the locked door, her fists clenching. "Don't touch us. I'll scream."
The nurse glanced nervously down the hall toward the station, then looked back at Maya. She took in Maya’s bare feet, the hospital gown, and the terrified child hiding behind her legs.
"I'm not going to touch you," the nurse said softly. She glanced at the name badge on her own chest, which read Sarah. Then she looked directly into Maya’s eyes. "I saw Dr. Evans’s chart. I saw the timestamp. I know you weren't even in the building when he signed it."
Maya didn't relax her posture. "Who are you?"