The rain had begun to fall over the city streets as Sarah pulled her black luxury SUV up to a small, worn brick apartment building on the north side of town.
She pulled her coat tight around her shoulders, walking up the concrete steps to unit 2B.
Sarah knocked softly on the wooden door, watching through the small glass peephole.
A middle-aged woman opened the door a few inches, keeping the security chain attached.
Clara: Who are you? It's almost midnight.
Sarah: Nurse Clara? My name is Sarah Vance. I'm Arthur Vance's daughter.
Clara's eyes widened with sudden recognition and concern.
Clara: Arthur's daughter? Oh, child... you shouldn't be here. It isn't safe for you.
Sarah: Please, Clara. I know what Victor and Dr. Sterling are doing to my father's estate. I need your help.
Clara looked up and down the empty apartment hallway before unhooking the heavy metal chain.
Clara: Come inside quickly. Don't stand out in the hall.
Sarah stepped inside the modest living room, where stacks of medical files were neatly organized on a small dining table.
Sarah: Did Victor threaten you, Clara?
Clara: Dr. Sterling suspended my nursing license two weeks ago because I refused to alter your father's ICU admission timestamp.
Sarah: They tried to force you to lie about the time he lost consciousness?
Clara: They wanted me to state that your father was awake and coherent at three in the afternoon on the fourteenth.
Sarah: That was the exact hour the digital loan contract was executed!
Clara: Yes. But your father was in a medically induced coma by eleven o'clock that morning. He never regained consciousness.
Clara walked over to her sideboard, picking up a small, silver USB flash drive.
Clara: I backed up the real-time cardiac monitoring files and the ICU entry logs on this drive before they locked me out of the hospital system.
Sarah looked at the small silver drive in Clara's hand, feeling a sudden rush of hope in her chest.
Sarah: Clara... this is the exact evidence we need to prove digital forgery and corporate fraud!
Clara: I wanted to take it to the district attorney, Sarah, but Dr. Sterling warned me that if I spoke out, they would sue me for violating patient privacy laws and ruin my career forever.
Sarah took Clara's rough, hardworking hands into her own.
Sarah: I will pay for the best defense lawyers in the country to protect your license, Clara. My family will make sure you are never hurt by these criminals.
Clara: Take the drive, Sarah. Save your father's life work from those vultures.
Sarah: Thank you, Clara. You have no idea what this means to me.
The sharp sound of tires screeching on the wet street outside made both women freeze.
Sarah looked out the small living room window, seeing a black luxury sedan parked directly behind her SUV.
Sarah: It's Victor... he followed my GPS location.
Clara: Use the rear fire escape stairs! Go through the alleyway!
Sarah tucked the USB drive deep into her coat pocket, heading straight for the back exit as heavy boots pounded up the front stairs.