The red leather of the diary was scuffed at the corners, the lock forced open.

Rachel looked down at the items but did not touch them yet.

“Tell me exactly what is on that drive,” she said.

“It contains the deleted security footage from Mercy General Hospital’s ICU corridor,” I said. “It shows Ethan Prescott entering Emily’s room after hours, disabling her monitoring equipment, and physically assaulting her while she was semi-conscious.”

Rachel’s jaw tightened. “And the local authorities?”

“The police chief in Charlotte is a personal friend of Margaret Prescott,” I said. “They refused to take a report. They claimed it was a domestic dispute that had already been resolved.”

“What about the hospital administration?” she asked.

“Dr. Alan Reeves tried to help me,” I said. “He gave me the raw backup files. As of an hour ago, he has been removed from his post, and his personal records have been seized by Prescott security.”

Rachel picked up the USB drive, turning it over in her hand. “This is heavy stuff, Evelyn. But the Prescotts have deep roots in the state judiciary. They will claim the footage was doctored.”