Chapter 6 - The Red Cross Code
Marianne rushed to the nurses' station and grabbed the hospital’s landline.
She knew that standard military bases wouldn't patch a civilian call through to a deployed naval officer. But Marianne was a veteran nurse, and she knew the exact emergency loophole.
She dialed the American Red Cross Emergency Armed Forces Dispatch.
"This is an absolute life-or-death emergency medical notification," Marianne spoke rapidly into the receiver. "I need you to relay an immediate Red Cross message to Captain David Vance, United States Navy. His daughter, Lucy Vance, is currently in emergency surgery for severe sepsis at Chicago General. Her legal guardian has abandoned her."
"Understood, ma'am," the military operator replied in a crisp, serious tone. "We will track his vessel's registry and transmit the emergency code to his command immediately."
Marianne hung up the phone, taking a deep, shuddering breath. She had done everything she could.
She reached down to turn off Lucy's cell phone to save the battery.
But just as her thumb hovered over the power button, a new email notification popped up on the lock screen. The email was from a massive, private health insurance conglomerate.
Marianne’s eyes narrowed. She swiped the notification open, bypassing the locked screen since the email app was left running.
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As she read the contents of the email, her compassionate demeanor shattered into a cold, hardened rage. The stepmother's refusal to return to the hospital wasn't just about a vacation.
👉 What massive, terrifying financial crime did the stepmother commit?
