THE VERY BEST OF CARE A NOVE by JULIE HATCH Chapter 84

Sophie took the stairs, not wanting to wait for the elevator.
Why was Danny’s nurse texting her to come to the NICU?
Running up the stairs, she tried to keep from thinking the worst.
She was out of breath by the time she reached the fourth floor.
Danny’s nurse met her outside the NICU door.
“What’s up?” Sophie asked. “Why did you text me to get here
in such a hurry?”
“It’s Amanda,” answered the nurse.
“Amanda? What about her?”
“She’s inside. She says she has something important to give
you.”
Sophie walked quickly to Pod C. With no preamble, Amanda
handed Sophie her phone.
Sophie looked at the broken phone. “What is this?”
“It’s a broken phone. But there is enough on there to nail
Dr. Wagner. I have recorded conversations and pictures of doc
uments tying him to what you’ve been trying to prove all along.
The recording isn’t in great shape, but a friend of mine was able
to recover most of it. You’ll get the gist of what I recorded.”
Sophie stared at the phone, then back at Amanda. She didn’t
know what to make of this. “You recorded Dr. Wagner?”
“Yes, you’ll see when you open the phone. I made a copy of
what’s on there and sent it to Madeline Cross.”
“You’re kidding.” Sophie studied Amanda for a moment.
“No, you’re serious, aren’t you?”
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Amanda nodded.
“Why? Why are you helping to catch Dr. Wagner in medical
fraud? You worked with him on it.”
“Because I know him well enough to know that if he’s going
down, he’ll try to bring me down with him. I’m not doing that.
I’m not ruining my life over him. What’s on that phone is my
insurance—it’s my way of showing I am not on his side.”
“No, Amanda, you take this. It’s yours,” said Sophie, hand
ing back the phone. “Keep your proof. I don’t need it, and who
knows, someday you might.”
Amanda took the phone back. “I hope you can believe me
when I say I’m sorry.” She turned her head and quickly walked
away, leaving Sophie to stare after her.
Wow, wonders never cease.
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