The Scalpel Pointed Back

...

That wasn't just a challenge to the police. It was a plea to the world.

I was just a minor doctor with no pull. Alone, I'd never track down Lauren's kidneys. By any means necessary, I needed everyone's help.

The internet exploded.

[She's threatening us now? The police can't even handle this, and she expects random people to play detective?]

[Why should I care if she kills them?]

[Hold on. Let's hope some hacker steps up. Lives are at stake.]

As the online chaos grew, the police outside were sweating through their vests.

Anthony lost his temper. "Where the hell are her sister's kidneys? What is this hospital covering up?"

"Ask the intern. It's all on her," Robert replied smoothly. "And your people? Can't even crack a reinforced door?"

Anthony ground his teeth. The morgue's steel door was a vault. Even the locksmiths couldn't touch it. Blasting it open might risk me losing it and killing everyone.

Inside, Michael clutched his wound, his lips pale. "I can't hold on. Please, stop the bleeding. I know where Lauren's kidneys went."

My pulse spiked. I crouched beside him, the scalpel glinting. "Where?"

Before he could answer, Robert's voice boomed from outside. "Michael, don't run your mouth and tank the hospital's reputation. We'll get you out."

I pressed the blade against Michael's abdomen. "Bleed out now or later?"

...

Michael's face was a portrait of despair, his lips trembling. "They were tossed in the medical waste bin. Even if you found them, they'd be rotting by now."

I stared into his fading eyes, my teeth grinding. Even now, he was stuck to the lie.

I wondered what he was protecting.

Anthony, sensing the tension, shouted, "Dr. Carpenter, don't do anything reckless. He might not know anything. Patch him..."

Before he could finish, I plunged the scalpel into Michael again. Each stab was precise and brutal until his body was riddled with holes.

He clutched his abdomen, his eyes wide. His lips moved slightly, as if begging me for mercy.

I paused, then stood up as his blood pooled on the tiles like a scarlet bloom. He slid down to the ground and stopped moving.

The livestream chat went wild.

[She killed him! Blood is everywhere! She's lost it!]

[My dad is in there. Someone, find her sister's kidneys. I can't lose him.]

I wiped the blood from my cheek, slipping on a surgical mask. "Forgot to mention. They're all HIV-positive."

Turning to the camera, I added, "Anyone with access, check the city's kidney transplant records from the past five days. Lauren's kidneys are out there."

My calm ignited the viewers' fury. The thrill of the spectacle was gone.

[Your sister deserved this, you psycho! Go to hell with her!]

I tilted my head, unfazed. "Fine by me. But if I go down, they're coming with me. Good Samaritans out there, help these poor souls. Won't your conscience nag you if they die?"