I met Derek Solis in the break room on a Tuesday morning. He was hunched over his laptop at the far table, muttering under his breath about network protocols while the coffee machine gurgled behind him. I'd seen him around the hospital for months—quiet, competent, always disappearing into server rooms with armfuls of cables—but we'd never spoken. Today, I had purpose.
I set my coffee down across from him and said, 'Morning.'
He looked up, startled, like he'd forgotten anyone else existed in the world. 'Morning,' he replied, then went back to his screen.
I sat for a while, just drinking my coffee. The break room was empty except for us. After a few minutes, I said, 'You're the IT guy, right? Derek?'
He nodded without looking up. 'Solis. Derek Solis.'
'Coffee's terrible today,' I said.
That got a laugh out of him—a short, surprised sound. 'Tell me about it.' He finally closed his laptop. 'I think the machine's got a vendetta against me.'
We talked about coffee. Then about the hospital's wireless that kept dropping in the east wing. Then, somehow, about his dog, a rescue greyhound named Data, and the server room's persistent humidity problem. I wasn't recording any of it. I wasn't taking notes. I was just having coffee with someone who didn't know me as 'the girl Wrenley Henderson was destroying.'
Two weeks later, I asked him about the security cameras.
We were in the server room—he'd invited me down to show me the new backup system after I'd mentioned my research data was at risk. The room hummed with equipment, the air cool and dry against my skin.
'So,' I said, looking at the monitor wall, 'those cameras cover everything, right? The parking garage too?'
Derek's hands stilled on the keyboard. 'Mostly. Why?'
'Just curious. About the blind spots.'
He studied me for a long moment. Then he pulled up a chair and gestured for me to sit. 'What floor?'
'Sublevel 3. Far corner, by the ventilation ducts.'
His fingers moved across the keyboard. The screen changed, showing a grid of camera feeds. He zoomed in on sublevel 3, then on the far corner. The angle was tight, but it was there—a narrow field of vision that captured the space I'd noted weeks ago.
'There's your blind spot,' he said quietly. 'Not completely blind, but close enough that someone might think it was.'
I looked at him. 'Can you get the footage?'
He didn't ask why. He just nodded once and said, 'When do you need it?'
That was how I built my case. Not with anger—anger was too loud, too messy. I built it with the same precision I used for difficult procedures. One piece at a time, documented, verified, filed away.
Wrenley's DMs came first. 'You should transfer before something worse happens.' 'My father can make your degree worthless.' 'Reed never loved you.' I screen-recorded every message, saved every screenshot, noted every timestamp. Evidence.
Reed's texts were next. 'I miss you.' 'Can't wait to see you tonight.' 'You're the only one who gets me.' Sent on the same days he'd been with Wrenley. Sent while I was working overnight shifts, believing he was doing the same. I saved them all.
The parking garage footage arrived via Derek's encrypted email. Three weeks' worth, organized by date. I watched it all, methodically. Reed's gray Accord pulling in at 6:47 PM. Maeve's black Audi arriving seventeen minutes later. The windows fogging up. The unmistakable movement inside. I noted the dates, the times, the license plates. I created a separate folder and labeled it 'Garage.'
On a Thursday evening, I followed Reed myself. Not to spy—I already knew what I would see. To confirm it with my own eyes. To make it real.
I parked on the street two blocks from the hospital and walked to the garage entrance. My heart rate stayed steady. My hands were dry and warm. I wasn't nervous. I was collecting the final piece.
His car was there. So was Maeve's. I stood in the shadow of a concrete pillar and watched. Reed got out of his car. He looked around—cautious, but not careful enough. Then he walked to Maeve's car and got in the passenger seat. The windows fogged up.
I took my phone out of my pocket. I photographed the car—license plate visible, time stamp in the corner, location clear. I zoomed in on the fogged windows. I took three pictures in quick succession. Then I put my phone away and walked back to my car without looking back.
I drove home. I ate dinner. I added the new photos to my file. I now had everything I needed.
Cassandra caught me the next morning in the residents' lounge. She was holding two cups of coffee and wearing the kind of expression that meant she'd been watching me for longer than I'd realized.
'You look different,' she said, handing me one of the cups.
I took it. 'Different how?'
'Like you're not waiting for the next blow. Like you're planning one.'
I sipped the coffee. It was better than usual. 'Maybe I am.'
She studied my face for a long moment. Then she said, 'Are you okay, or are you planning something?'
I looked at her and said, 'Both.'
She nodded once, like that made perfect sense. 'Let me know if you need a witness to anything.'
It was the first time I'd let anyone close enough to see what I was doing. The first crack in the wall I'd built around myself. But I didn't feel exposed. I felt ready.
