Chapter 15 - The Woman Who Signed Twice

District Attorney Evelyn Sloan had called Lucie a thief in front of a jury. She had pointed toward Nora in the gallery and said a good mother would have confessed. Lucie could still hear the scrape of the jurors' chairs after the verdict.

Now Sloan's signature appeared on both the county's transport approvals and the court orders declaring women released.

"She can't sign court orders," Lucie said.

"She didn't," Rosa replied. "She signed forged certifications and used the clerk's digital account. The originals in Room B show where somebody replaced the authorization pages."

Rosa had copied the photographs from Raines's camera onto an encrypted medical reporting drive. Mara filed an emergency motion that morning asking a judge to preserve Briar Creek's transport records, but the clerk said the hearing could not be scheduled until Monday.

It was Friday.

"Monday gives Mercer seventy-two hours," Lucie said.

"I know," Rosa answered. "I've asked the state inspector general for an emergency preservation order."

At lunch, officers entered the dining hall and called Rosa's name. She rose slowly, setting her tray on the table. Two men in plain clothes stood beyond the doors.

"They're not state investigators," Valérie whispered. "The tall one works for Vale."

Rosa saw Lucie's expression. She didn't run. She simply unfastened her nurse's badge and slipped it into the pocket of a passing kitchen worker.

"Give that to Raines," she said.

The men led her away. When Lucie reached the kitchen, the badge was already gone. Nobody would admit receiving it.

That evening, a message appeared on the facility television during a local news report: NURSE PLACED ON LEAVE AFTER DRUG THEFT INVESTIGATION.

Valérie shook her head. "That's how Mercer buries people without a shovel."

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Then an officer delivered an envelope addressed to Lucie. Inside was a single photograph: Rosa in a chair, wrists bound, her face bruised.

Across the back, in black marker, someone had written: Choose the ledger or the nurse.