He closed the heavy door behind him, shutting out the hum of the hospital hallway.

“Elena,” he said, his voice low and tight. “You need to listen to me very carefully.”

On the other end of the line, I heard the sound of a car door slamming shut.

“Who is it?” Luke’s voice demanded through the phone. “Elena, who is in the room?”

“It’s Dr. Bennett,” I said.

I pressed the speaker button so Luke could hear.

Dr. Bennett walked to the side of my bed, his eyes scanning the monitors.

“Two men just arrived at the administrator’s desk downstairs,” the doctor said.

He checked the IV line in my arm, his fingers cold against my skin.

“They have legal paperwork from Mercer Holdings,” Bennett continued.

“They are claiming your insurance is no longer valid, and they are demanding your immediate discharge.”

“They can’t do that,” Luke growled from the speaker.

“They have a court order,” Bennett said, looking directly at the phone.

“It was signed by a judge who sits on the board of one of your father’s charities, Mr. Mercer.”