Sophie and Kim finally had a chance to meet away from the
hospital. Kim sat on a bench in the park, her jacket unzipped
on the unseasonably warm day, a hint that spring wasn’t far away.
The blue in her hair had faded, but her silver dangle earrings
danced in the breeze.
“Oh my God, Kim, I am so happy to see you!” Sophie
exclaimed. The two hugged. “I was afraid I’d never see you again.”
They both started talking at once, then laughed.
“You go first,” said Sophie.
Kim began her story.
“That Thursday morning, I hailed a cab to get to work. I was
running late, and taxi was the quickest way to get there. I got in
and gave the driver the hospital’s address. After a few blocks, I
realized he was going in the wrong direction. I thought the driver
was taking me the long way to the hospital just to rack up a higher
fare. I watched the Uptown buildings disappear behind me. Then
my phone rang—it was Rita telling me that the cab driver was
taking me to a nursing conference downtown. I remember think
ing that was strange since she hadn’t mentioned anything about
it before. I should have known as soon as I heard her say ‘we
grabbed the last spots for the conference’ that something was up.
But I had no idea.”
Kim paused, then continued. “I asked her if my supervisor
knew I wouldn’t be at work that day, and Rita assured me that
she did. The cab dropped me at a hotel in Lower Manhattan. I
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was handed what appeared to be a typical conference name tag,
complete with a lanyard, and was led into the hotel. Next thing
I knew, there were two guys holding my arms, taking me upstairs
to my room. And that’s where I stayed for the next three weeks.”
Sophie gaped at Kim. “Are you kidding me?”
“I wish I was.” She looked off in the distance for a few
moments, then returned her attention to Sophie.
“No. There was no conference. There were no other nurses.
It was me and these two thugs with guns for three weeks. There
was no way for me to leave, no way for me to call anybody. They
cut my phone service and internet so I couldn’t make any out
going calls or receive any calls, not even voicemail. No email,
no web browsing. Every meal was hotel food delivered by room
service. My days consisted of the same thing every day over and
over—video games, hotel HBO movies, and endless rounds of
Sudoku. Rita sometimes called on one of the guys’ phones, reas
suring me it wouldn’t be too much longer. Every time she called,
I begged her for an explanation.
“I asked the guys holding me hostage why they were keeping
me there. They shrugged and gave me blank looks. I didn’t know
what was happening back at the hospital. I had horrible thoughts
about Danny and you and Adam. Nobody would tell me a thing.
I think they were waiting for Danny to be discharged home, away
from the hospital, away from exposing Mitch.”
She stopped talking. After a minute, she resumed. “I know it
doesn’t make much sense, but hearing from Rita every so often
reassured me that I’d be okay. I guess once Rita saw the writing
on the wall that Mitch would be caught, she told the guys to
bring me back and to make sure they scared me enough to not
say anything. They told me if I breathed a word of what had
happened, my parents and my brother would pay. You’re the first
person I’ve said anything to. Now, of course, everybody knows
everything, so it doesn’t matter. I’m safe.”
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“We were told you’d been in a car accident,” explained Sophie.
“When Suzanne tried to reach you at your parents’ house, she
couldn’t get through.”
“And my parents were told I was away on a nursing volunteer
trip out of the country. Somehow, Dr. Wagner made sure my par
ents and my nursing friends and roommates never put two and two
together.”
Sophie stared at her in amazement. “That is just too unbe
lievable,” she said, shaking her head.
“Now tell me all you know,” Kim said.
“At first, I was convinced WMI was behind Mitch’s scheme
and that they were connected to Dr. Sheldon’s lab experiments
and Josh’s pushing BrainHealth. I was sure WMI was the driving
force behind it all.”
“Yes! You’re right!” said Kim. “The people at WMI are the
ringleaders. They own the hospital, which means they own all
the people that work at Metro. They own Kindred, HHI insur
ance company, and a host of other medical businesses. I think
Mitch Wagner was their puppet and that Sheldon Vandewater
was doing their shady work.”
“No, Kim, you’ve got it wrong. That’s what I thought too.
Adam and I went to meet with WMI. They’ve washed their
hands of Dr. Wagner. They’re not protecting him. In fact, they’ve
offered to help us start a lawsuit against Dr. Wagner for medical
expenses for Danny and all the other babies who were wrongly
born too early. They’re a good company, Kim.”
Kim took a minute to absorb the information. Sophie could
see her trying to make sense of everything.
“Well, then who kidnapped me? Who’s responsible for keep
ing me hidden away all that time? It’s gotta be WMI.”
“I don’t know. Dr. Wagner had his own den of hooligans.
They worked at WMI but in low-level positions and, for the
right price, would do whatever Dr. Wagner asked. WMI has
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fired everyone they found to be associated with Mitch Wagner.”
“What about Sheldon and his lab? Even Rihanna didn’t
know what he was doing. You’re the only one who saw anything,
and you never said a word.”
“That’s because Dr. Wagner threatened me if I said anything. I
couldn’t risk telling you because I didn’t know what he would do.”
They sat in silence for a few more moments.
“I guess it makes sense,” Kim said. “I just wish they’d left me
alone. Why did they have to drag me into it?”
“Because Dr. Wagner knew that you were onto him as well
and would help me bring him down. He needed you out of the
way. I’m so sorry you went through what you did because of me.”
“No, Sophie, don’t apologize for Dr. Wagner’s actions.” She
laughed. “They must have thought I could do a lot of damage.
I had no idea I was that important.” Kim gave Sophie’s arm a
squeeze. “I’m just glad everyone is okay, and you’ll all be home
soon.
