The sky was turning a bruised purple as the sun sank below the city skyline.

A nurse came in to check my vitals, her soft rubber shoes squeaking on the linoleum floor.

She changed my IV bag, the plastic crinkling in the quiet room.

“Try to rest, Natalie,” Rachel whispered, pulling a plastic chair closer to my bedside.

“I can’t,” I said. “My mind is running too fast.”

The pain in my skin was a constant, sharp burn, but the cold dread in my stomach was worse.

My phone, sitting on the bedside table, suddenly buzzed against the hard wood.

The screen lit up, reflecting against the glass of water next to it.

I couldn’t reach it easily with my bandaged fingers.

Rachel picked it up for me and held it to my ear.

“Natalie?” Detective Sullivan’s voice was loud and clear.

“I’m here, Detective,” I said. “Where are you?”

“We just executed the warrant at the Brooks corporate offices,” he said.

I could hear the muffled sound of voices and the heavy thud of filing cabinets closing in the background.