Selena pushed the door open, stepping inside with a heavy heart. She knew what needed to be done, the burden weighing heavily on her chest.

"You’ll either walk out of here alive or not at all," she said. “Now here's the thing…”

—

"You what?" the woman asked, her eyes narrowing at the two figures before her.

"You heard me," Selena Hale replied, her piercing blue eyes fixed on Kayla. "I can tell when someone is lying."

Emily Weston, the supporting physician, shifted uneasily beside Selena. “Is that true, Kayla? If you want us to believe you, just be honest.”

Kayla’s gaze darted nervously between the two doctors. “I… I’m telling the truth.”

Emily exchanged a look with Selena, who tilted her head, signalling for a private word. The two stepped aside.

“Are you sure she’s lying?” Emily whispered.

“I’m certain. She's hiding something.”

Emily arched an eyebrow. “Sure it’s not just the coffee messing with your senses?”

Selena’s lips curled into a humourless smile. “Very funny. You know I trust my instincts, and they’re screaming at me.”

Emily exhaled slowly. “Alright, let’s dig deeper.”

They returned to the bedside. Kayla’s face was pale, her fingers twitching against the IV stand. “Am I clear to leave? I feel fine,” she pleaded.

Selena didn’t blink. “Ms. Jefferson, we need the truth. You are sick but the tests show no anomaly. You seem to be perfectly normal.”

Kayla’s eyes widened, her voice shaky. “I… I didn’t tell you everything because... I was scared. My mother didn’t die of a heart disease. She was poisoned.”

Emily’s eyes widened. “Poisoned? By whom?”

“I don’t know,” Kayla whispered, tears brimming. “But I think it’s happening to me, too. I don't want to end up like her.”

—

Later, in the hospital cafeteria, Selena typed furiously on her laptop, documenting the surreal events and typing notes for her latest crime fiction novel. Emily sat across from her, tears silently streaming down her face.

“What’s wrong?” Selena asked, closing her laptop.

Emily sniffed, wiping her eyes. “Do you remember Marcus?”

“Your boyfriend? What happened?”

“We broke up this morning before the shift,” Emily whispered. “He lied to me, Selena. About everything.”

Selena wrapped an arm around her. “I told you he didn’t deserve you.”

Emily shook her head. “You said he wasn’t lying when he said he loved me. But it turns out… he was hiding something.” She shrugged weakly. “But it’s alright if you misdiagnosed. We all make mistakes. After all, we're only human.”

Selena's stomach twisted violently, nausea rising like a wave threatening to engulf her. She pressed a hand to her abdomen, trying to steady herself, but the sensation only grew worse.

"It’s nothing," she muttered, forcing a weak smile. "Just the coffee." The lie tasted bitter on her tongue, much like the drink she blamed, but she couldn’t afford to show weakness now.

Suddenly, both their pagers beeped. They rushed to Room 204. The scene was chaos—nurses scrambling, the air thick with the stench of vomit and blood.

“Doctor Hale, Doctor Weston, she’s experiencing severe vomiting and seizures,” Nurse Aaron reported.

Selena's eyes widened. It was eerily similar to the mysterious cases her team had been handling. Her mind raced, piecing together the puzzle.

Emily sprang into action. "What’s the last thing she ingested?" she demanded.

Nurse Jane quickly responded, "Prescribed meds, nothing out of the ordinary."

Selena's jaw clenched. "Get me her full medical records now."

Emily, by Kayla’s side, administered the epinephrine. "Her vitals are crashing. We need to intubate if her airway compromises."

Selena nodded. "Prep for intubation, but expedite toxicology reports."

Suddenly, Kayla convulsed. Emily and the nurses fought to keep her stable.

"Hold on, Kayla," Emily whispered. "We’re not losing you."

Despite their efforts, the monitor’s beeping slowed.

"No!" Emily exclaimed, increasing the dosage.

As the monitor flatlined, a cold silence filled the room.

Selena took a deep breath. "Call it."

Emily nodded, her voice trembling. "Time of death, 2:57 PM."

—

The team filed into Doctor Hale’s office. Selena sat at her desk, ballpen hovering on her notebook. Doctor Weston was seated nearby, her eyes red from her breakup.

Selena cleared her throat. “Thank you for coming. We need to discuss Kayla Jefferson’s case,” she began. “It seems many patients dying here have similar symptoms.”

James Chan, the registrar, leaned forward. “Do we have any findings from the autopsy?”

Selena nodded. “The pathologist found traces of a rare toxin. It appears to have been introduced gradually.”

A murmur spread through the team. Luke Anderson, the infectious diseases specialist, frowned. “A toxin? Was this seen in the other patients?”

Emily spoke up. “We’re not sure, but there might be a link.”

“We made a mistake as we already dispatched the bodies of the other victims,” said Anderson.

“Don’t repeat that, Anderson. We know,” Selena replied.

Juliette Hooper, the anaesthetist, crossed her arms. “If this is deliberate, we could be looking at a series of poisonings.”

Selena’s gaze was intense. “Exactly. We need to review all similar cases. Look for commonalities.”

Catherine Hudson, the pharmacist, chimed in. “I’ll cross-check the medication logs for patterns.”

“We need to move quickly. More lives could be at risk,” said Selena.

The team nodded. As the others filed out, Emily lingered. Selena noticed and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Everything's going to be just fine,” she whispered, making her best friend finally smile.

—

As her shift ended, Selena stepped out of her office, her gaze sweeping the corridor, alert for any lingering anomalies. Her eyes briefly scanned the rows of patients.

Exiting the hospital, she made her way home, the streets quiet. Dr. Weston, still occupied with tasks, promised to return later.

Once home, Selena headed to the kitchen. With her mug in hand, she settled on the sofa, her laptop glowing softly in the dimly lit room. Grabbing her notebook filled with scribbled notes, she scanned the pages.

“So, a nurse secretly poisoning victims…” Selena murmured. “This seems impossible. The hospital’s covered in cameras, and most cases involve my team. None of our nurses could sneak poison unnoticed… could they?”

She paused, brow furrowed, caught in a sudden realization. Shaking her head, she resumed typing. “No, everything’s fine. Maybe it’s just my lack of sleep.” She exhaled, trying to push the nagging thoughts away. “Focus on the story. Your shift ended a while ago, Doctor Hale!” she muttered, redirecting her attention to her novel.

—

The door creaked open, and Selena’s gaze shifted toward the figure in the doorway. Weston entered, sweat clinging to her brow, hair dishevelled, and weariness etched across her face.

“What happened to you?” Selena asked.

“Nothing,” Emily replied, the bitter lie hanging in the air. Selena tasted that but chose not to press—perhaps it was the pain from her breakup. Still, something felt off.

Selena glanced at her mug, realizing she’d consumed too much coffee. “You want some... coffee?” she offered absently.

“No!” Emily’s reply was immediate, too quick to be casual. Selena’s brows furrowed at the outburst.

“It was just… Doctor Hudson told me something,” Emily continued. “We met before I came home.”

Selena’s eyes narrowed. Hudson was always secretive, a trait that unnerved her. “What did she say?”

Emily hesitated. “There’s a new drug being tested. Patients’ families sign off on it, but some get better while others… they die.”

Selena’s eyes widened. “What? Why wasn’t I told? Most of those patients are under our care!”

“I don’t know. Catherine is close with the Chief Hospital Administrator. Maybe he’s involved?” said Emily.

“We need to act,” Selena said firmly. “Let’s tell Doctor Harris.”

Emily looked uncertain. “Will he even believe us? Is he trustworthy?”

“He’s my ‘best friend.’ He’ll listen,” Selena assured her. Yet, a flicker of doubt crossed her mind. Harris had been acting strangely distant lately. Could he be hiding something?

Selena’s thoughts churned. Weston’s unusual behaviour, Hudson’s secrecy, Harris's potential involvement and now his distance—each of them felt like a piece of a larger, darker puzzle.

“Emily,” Selena said. “Call the team. We need everyone. No one should be late.”

As Emily nodded, Selena couldn’t shake the growing suspicion that someone among them was hiding more than they let on. The question was—who?

—

Upon reaching the hospital, Selena and Emily headed straight to Harris’s office. The air in the corridor felt tense as quick pleasantries were exchanged.

“...Hale, you shouldn’t be working now,” Harris said, stepping out of his office. “Your shift ended an hour ago. It’s already eight, and some of your team are on night shifts, possibly dealing with emergencies.”

Selena rolled her eyes, clearly frustrated. “I’ve told you, Sir, this is an emergency. We can't wait for more patients to die while this virus—whatever it is—spreads.”

Doctor Harris sighed, signalling his own exhaustion. “Fine, just go. I’m going home. I need rest.”

—

Selena entered her office, the group falling silent as she and Emily stepped in. Emily quickly closed the blinds, dimming the room further. Selena walked to the front.

"Alright," she began. "We’re here because something bigger than we expected is happening. Now, who’s the idiot administering newly created drugs to our patients?"

Murmurs rippled through the group, disbelief on their faces. Dr. Hudson shot to his feet, glaring at Emily.

"I told you not to blurt it out," Catherine hissed.

"I panicked! Just listen," Emily defended, her voice shaky.

"Enough," Selena interjected. "This needed to come to light. Lives are at stake, and we can't afford to waste time. Now, who among you decided to drug our patients without consulting me—your lead consultant?"

The silence was visible, fear evident in every face. No one spoke. Selena’s patience wore thin. "I repeat, which one of you made this decision?"

As she turned to leave, a movement caught her eye. Hudson stood, pale and trembling. "No, Doctor Hale! It wasn’t me," she stammered.

Selena studied her, her unique ability to sense lies confirming his honesty. "Carry on."

Catherine handed Selena a folded paper. "I reviewed the pharmacy records. A doctor purchased a drug called Atephastamine V."

Selena unfolded the paper. Hudson added, "None of our team made the purchase. It’s someone from another department."

"Is this doctor still in the hospital?" Selena asked.

"Doctor Jones just went to the pharmacy for Memantine for his patient in room 349," Hudson replied.

Selena’s gaze sharpened. "I want the best actors among you to speak with Doctor Alex Jones. Ask about his methods, but don’t be obvious. If he suspects anything, you’re done. Get him to talk without revealing what we know."

The team dispersed, regrouping at midnight in Selena’s office. Hooper and Anderson took turns questioning him, returning to the office to report, until Hooper had convinced Jones to join under the guise of a casual chat.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team pursued their tasks. Hudson and Emily tested drug samples in the lab. Chan sifted through patient records, tracking the drug’s impact. In her office, Selena meticulously reviewed security footage, hoping to uncover Jones’s movements.

As the night wore on, Selena couldn’t shake a growing unease. Every interaction, every piece of evidence pointed to something deeper. Could one of her own team be involved? The thought gnawed at her.

Hooper returned, her expression grim. "No clear confessions, but Jones seemed nervous," she reported.

Selena nodded, her mind already racing. She couldn’t ignore the nagging feeling.

The team reconvened, each sharing their findings. Doctor Chan had uncovered a suspicious pattern in the records—patients receiving Atephastamine V showed mixed results, some recovering miraculously, others deteriorating rapidly.

"We need to push harder," Selena said. "Something’s not adding up. We need to question everyone—patients, staff, anyone who might have seen something."

Emily hesitated. "Selena, do you think... do you suspect one of us?"

Selena met her gaze. "I suspect everyone, Emily. Including myself. We can't afford to trust blindly."

—

“Lies! You know about that drug!” Selena accused, startling the team.

Jones shifted, sweat betraying his calm. "What drug are you talking about, Doctor Hale?"

"You’re one of the top neurologists at this hospital, right? How long have you been using it? Does Doctor Harris know?"

"Don’t tell Doctor Carter or Harris!" Alex blurted.

"Why not?" Selena pressed.

Alex swallowed. "You’ll understand if you’re as good as they say."

"Does anyone know about the drug?" Selena asked.

Alex shook his head. "No one knew about Atephastamine V."

"If Hudson knew, why didn’t she tell us?" Chan asked. "The first patient survived, by the way."

"But the next one died," Hooper added.

"Unless she was threatened," Selena suggested. "Am I right, Doctor?"

Alex hesitated, then admitted, "I scared her. But this was for the greater good! Three patients survived!"

"Did you give it to my recent patient?" Selena demanded.

A knock interrupted. Chan opened the door for Hudson and Weston.

"The drug can destroy or restore the immune system," Weston reported.

"Did you dispose of it?" Selena asked Emily.

"Yep," Emily nodded.

Alex’s desperation grew. "This is a breakthrough! We’re giving them a second chance!"

Selena’s expression remained cold. "I’m informing Harris. And Carter—"

"No, please!" Alex trembled. "I’ll do anything—just don’t let this out!"

Selena’s team exchanged looks, the unspoken thought hanging in the air.

—

A few days later, Alex promised to stop using the drug and threatening doctors in exchange for Hale’s team keeping his scandal quiet. Despite his vow, Selena had her team secretly watch him—her instincts sensed more to uncover.

The mysterious patient deaths seemed to have ceased. Or so it appeared. One night, just before Hale’s shift ended, an emergency call summoned her. Hudson had collapsed while handling medications. According to Hooper, she’d been fine until she suddenly dropped.

After ruling out immediate illnesses, Selena extended her shift to monitor Hudson. Around eleven, Hudson finally woke. Selena spotted Anderson and Hooper blocking Alex, who looked desperate.

“Jones says he needs to see Hudson immediately. Claims it’s urgent,” Anderson reported.

Selena hurried over. “Jones, what’s going on?” she demanded.

“She needs the AV, Hale. We have to administer it before it’s too late,” Alex insisted, gripping her shoulders. Hooper quickly pulled him back.

“He keeps repeating that,” Hooper added.

“Selena, I can’t lose Cathy like I lost my mother,” Alex pleaded, his voice cracking.

“Maybe you should’ve thought of that before threatening her,” Selena snapped, pushing past him into Hudson’s room. Hudson’s eyes flickered open. “Did you threaten your mum, too?” she continued, not looking back.

“Who?” Hudson asked weakly.

“Not you, Cathy. I’m talking to your ‘boyfriend,’” Selena replied with sarcasm.

Hudson nodded slightly, still groggy. Whether she caught the joke or was just adjusting wasn’t clear.

—

Hours later, Selena returned to her office and saw Anderson limping down the corridor.

"Luke, what happened? Aren’t you heading home?" she called.

"I’m off to see James," he muttered without looking back.

"Seen Emily?" she asked.

"Probably busy," he replied bitterly, sending a chill down her spine.

In her office, unease gnawed at her. Peeking through the door, she saw Anderson and Chan entering a room. Alarmed, she pulled up security feeds, but the footage glitched. Switching to another feed, she spotted Emily speaking with someone. Determined, Selena followed Anderson.

As she reached the room, Chan collapsed. Before she could react, Alex clamped a hand over her mouth, whispering, "Stay quiet."

Selena watched in horror as dark smoke seeped from Anderson into Chan. Moments later, Chan stood, lifeless yet moving. Anderson’s eyes flickered red before returning to normal. Alex pulled Selena away as Anderson noticed them.

"Selena, I don’t know what that thing is, but it infects people," Alex whispered. "My mom had it too. She was experimenting, and then… it happened. My brother said she sold her soul, but I don’t know what to believe."

"My brother, Marcus, he was infected," Alex continued. "He ended things with Emily before it took him, terrified of passing it on. But once it’s inside someone, they’re gone—dead. After they met, the infection spread."

"How do you know this?" Selena whispered.

"I dug deeper. There’s a drug—a company knew about this plague. They stopped the first outbreak, but it’s back. I had no choice but to act from the shadows."

Selena’s knees weakened. "Emily, Anderson, Hudson, Chan..."

"Your team could be infected. If they are, so are you," Alex warned. "They must be destroyed. They’re not who they were."

"No!" Selena screamed, denial wracking her body.

"You can stay out of this, Selena," Alex said. "But they need to be terminated."

"No! Don’t you dare lay a hand on them!"

Ignoring her, Alex turned and walked away, leaving her frozen in fear.

After crying, Selena took the AV Alex gave her and went home. The next day, she gathered her team, secretly testing them with high-pitched frequencies. As they collapsed, she and Alex administered the AV. Two died, but Anderson and Hooper survived.

In the chaos, Selena’s heart shattered as Emily didn’t make it. Grief consumed her as she whispered, "Emily," mourning the loss of her best friend.

—

Selena sat in the waiting room, eyes fixed on the clock. Each second dragged. Alex’s unsettling eyes haunted her thoughts.

A nurse passed by. "Seen Dr. Jones?" Selena asked.

"In the corridor," the nurse replied.

Selena’s heart raced. She followed the corridor and saw Alex approaching a patient’s room, oddly quiet. As he reached for the door, a shadow began to seep from his mouth.

Acting swiftly, Selena grabbed his arm and clamped a gloved hand over his mouth, muffling the shadow. His wide eyes confirmed her worst fear—the infection had taken him, too.

She knew what needed to be done, the burden weighing heavily on her chest.

"You’ll either walk out of here alive or not at all," she said. Without giving him a chance to react, she injected the syringe, the AV coursing through his veins. Her heart pounded as she watched, hoping against hope that it wasn’t too late.