Chapter 2 - The Hospital Protocol
> The emergency room supervisor tried to wave Ray away, citing HIPAA protocols, but I flashed my corporate badge and requested the complete patient intake log and security logs for the past twelve hours.
> "On what authority?" the administrator asked, sweating under my glare.
> "On the authority of Northstar Risk, which underwrites this hospital's malpractice insurance and compliance auditing," I said, my voice dangerously calm. "If my mother was discharged into a freezing parking lot in a hospital gown without a psychiatric evaluation or a family guardian present, this facility is facing an immediate federal revocation of its Medicare funding."
> The color drained from the administrator's face. He scrambled to pull up the discharge files.
> The screen revealed what I expected. The admission had been authorized not by a medical doctor, but by an electronic signature override using an administrative code. The code belonged to the hospital's chief financial officer, Dr. Harrison—who happened to sit on the board of a real estate development firm co-owned by my stepfather, Ray.
> I copied the digital metadata onto a flash drive. St. Catherine's hadn't just made an administrative error; they had actively collaborated in a forced medical confinement to help Ray seize my mother's assets.
> Outside the double doors, Daniel was pacing, talking loudly on his phone. I walked out of the nursing station just as he ended the call.
> "You're wasting your time, Maya," Daniel snapped, pointing a finger at me. "Ray has the power of attorney. The house is already in our names. Mom signed the transfer papers yesterday morning before she 'lost her mind.' You can't touch us."
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> I stopped, looking at my brother. "She signed it yesterday?"
> "Legally and notarized," Daniel sneered. "By the end of the week, this whole mess will be cleared up, and you'll be driving back to Chicago with nothing."
