Chapter 2 - The Rising Waters
The wind from the helicopter blades whipped the wet paper against my palm.
My original medical directive—the one I had drafted three years ago after my father died of congestive heart failure—clearly designated my sister Nadine as my primary decision-maker. The second document, crisp and newly notarized with a seal dated three days prior, had stripped Nadine of every power, handing absolute authority to Everett. My signature on the second page was an absolute forgery, a precise trace of my hand from our mortgage agreement.
"Give me those," Everett demanded, taking two sharp steps toward my gurney. Rain was pouring down his forehead, running in thin streams off his chin. His composure was slipping, exposing the desperate edge underneath. "Those are private hospital administrative records, Odette. You don't know what you're reading."
"I know my own handwriting," I gasped, the cold rain burning against my bare arms. "And I know I never signed this."
Tori Alvarez stood up immediately, stepping directly into Everett's path. She was a seasoned flight nurse, built sturdy and strong, and her eyes held zero fear. She held down the remaining loose papers beneath her heavy medical boots.
"Mr. Lane, step back," Tori commanded, her voice cutting clean through the roar of the idling engine and the thrashing storm. "You just told me your wife declined transport. But these documents show a conflict of authority, and this patient is clearly demanding care."
"I am the Director of Transport at this facility!" Everett shouted, dropping all pretense of professional calm. He grabbed Tori’s arm. "I authority-override the transfer list! Clear the landing pad!"
"Get your hands off her!" a sharp voice barked from the roof access door.
Dr. Simone Reyes burst onto the landing pad, flanked by two armed hospital security officers. Her blue scrubs were soaked through, a stethoscope hanging around her neck like a dead snake. She looked at the scene—Maren sitting terrified in the cabin, papers scattered across the flooded concrete, and me holding the forged power of attorney.
"Simone," Everett started, instantly attempting to pivot his tone back to reasonable authority. "We have a medical priority conflict here. Odette's vitals stabilized, so I allocated the seat to Ms. Vale, who has acute internal abdominal bleeding—"
"Ms. Vale has a minor wrist sprain and a scalp laceration," Dr. Reyes interrupted coldly, pulling a digital tablet from her waterproof jacket. "I just reviewed her ER triage chart. She was never cleared for helivac transport. You manually altered her chart in the system ten minutes ago using your administrator passkey."
Inside the helicopter, Maren pulled her harness release lever. The heavy straps snapped open. She scrambled out of the seat and ducked under the spinning rotor blades, nearly falling onto the wet concrete before one of the security guards caught her.
"He told me Odette was going to die in ICU anyway," Maren sobbed, pointing a shaking, bandaged finger at Everett. "He said if I took the briefcase to his attorney in Jefferson City, he would meet me there tonight with the deed to the Riverstone property! He tricked me!"
Everett’s face went dead white. The rain hit his eyes, but he didn't even blink.
"Maren, shut your mouth," Everett hissed.
"No!" Dr. Reyes snapped. She turned to the security officers. "Escort Mr. Lane off this roof and detain him in the administrative office until local law enforcement arrives. He is relieved of his duties effective immediately."
"You can't do that!" Everett shouted as the two guards stepped in, grabbing his arms and pulling them behind his back. "The river is taking the ground floor! You need me to manage the rescue boats!"
"We have the National Guard for that," Dr. Reyes said without looking at him again. She turned toward my gurney and knelt beside me, her cold hands pressing gently against my neck to feel my erratic, fluttering pulse. "Odette, can you hear me?"
"Yes," I choked out, clutching the forged papers to my chest. "Simone... my chest..."
"I know, honey. Your heart is working on borrowed time," Dr. Reyes said softly, looking up at Tori. "Load her. Right now."
"What about Ms. Vale?" Tori asked, pointing at Maren, who was leaning against the safety rail, weeping hysterically.
"Ms. Vale will wait in the dry third-floor cafeteria with the rest of the non-critical walk-ins," Dr. Reyes said firmly. She squeezed my hand. "Odette, I called St. Vincent myself. Dr. Marcus Vance, their chief of cardiac surgery, is waiting in the OR for you. He’s the best in the state. You survive this flight, you hear me? You survive and make him pay."
The orderlies lifted my gurney effortlessly, sliding me into the warm, illuminated belly of the helicopter. Tori jumped in beside me, pulling the heavy side door shut and locking it into place.
May you like
Through the rain-streaked glass, I watched my husband being dragged away toward the roof door, his face twisted in desperate rage. Beyond him, the muddy brown waters of the Blackwater River continued to rise, swallowing Cypress Bend whole.
The helicopter lifted into the gray, screaming sky.
