[First meet- 2] Illegal Racket!

Claire's breath was shaky as she walked over. Her heart raced as she approached the first bed. Holding her phone like a flashlight, she lifted the sheet. What lay beneath made her stomach turn—a fresh corpse, the death recent, maybe only a few hours ago. But it wasn't just the death that disturbed her. As she lifted the sheet further, she gasped. The body was incomplete. Its organs were missing, the flesh cut open, the skin carelessly left unstitched. Blood still fresh in the cavity.

She took a step back, nausea rolling through her, the horrifying truth sinking in: someone was running an illegal organ racket in this very hospital. Before she could process it further, a sound from down the hall made her freeze. Footsteps. Her pulse thundered in her ears as she ducked behind a metal cart, hiding in the shadows just as the door swung open.

Dr. Hensley entered, his gaze sweeping over the bodies like he was conducting an inventory. His expression was chillingly calm, as though this was just another routine check-up. He paused beside the bed Claire had just examined, lifting the sheet with a hint of satisfaction in his eyes. For a moment, he even smiled, an expression so cold it sent shivers down her spine.

Muttering to himself, he let the sheet drop and pulled out his phone. She strained to hear as he murmured fragments of conversation reached her. "Yes…shipment…high demand…the next batch ready by tomorrow night…no loose ends."

Claire's stomach twisted as the pieces fell into place. This wasn't a one-time occurrence. It was an organized operation, and he was involved far more deeply than she'd imagined.

As Dr. Hensley hung up, turning to leave. And Claire remained hidden, barely daring to breathe until she heard the door click shut behind him. Only then did she dare to move, her mind racing. She had to act fast.

*The records room,* she thought. It was one floor down, tucked away at the end of a rarely used hallway. If there was proof of this operation, it would be there. Moving swiftly and silently, she slipped out of the morgue, keeping close to the walls and praying she wouldn't run into anyone else.

When she reached the records room, she quickly slid inside, shutting the door behind her. The glow of computer screens illuminated rows of shelves lined with files. She crossed to the nearest computer, logged in, and began scanning recent patient records.

One by one, disturbing details emerged. Recently deceased patients, all listed with suspicious causes of death, their files oddly incomplete. And then she found what she was looking for—a batch of encrypted files labeled only by code names. She opened one and her stomach lurched. It was labeled as Natural Death. With no names, contacts, addresses, or even reference contact of their relatives.

She snapped photos with her phone, her fingers trembling. She needed to move quickly. Just as she captured the final image, a loud beep sounded, and her heart stopped. She'd triggered an alert.

She turned to look at the door; it was sister Milly, the head of nursing staff. Claire swallowed her fear and smiled faintly.

"What brings you here?" Adjusting her glasses, she glared at Claire.

"I…yeah well, I just dropped by to check the patient's record." She stood firm.

"Oh, is that so? But this isn't your work. And these are Dr Hensley's patient records, I wonder what you wanted to check." she shot a murderous look at Claire.

"Is it so? Oh god! I might have drank a little more at the event. Why would I need to check Dr Hensley's records for my thesis." Claire slapped her head. "I'm so sorry, sister. Dang it! Now I see that the patient names given to us don't match the names in the system. Ah! Now it all makes sense." Clicking her tongue, Claire mocked herself and rolled her eyes.

"Well, now you know that you are in the wrong place so please take your leave," Sister Milly said with a stern look on her face.

Claire nodded and didn't take a second to step out of the room. She passed like lightning, and didn't stop till she reached the exit of the hospital.

Tired and scared, Claire stood on the road. Panting, she bent down and held her knees, catching her breath. She stabilised herself, chest heaving. "That sure was a close call." She closed her eyes and sighed. Without wasting a minute, She ran to grab a taxi and went home as soon as possible.

That day she was so scared that she had to sleep with her grandma. After dinner Claire joined her grandmother. She was hesitant about who to discuss this matter with. She looked at her grandmother, but she knew if she discussed this, her grandma would be very tense about her safety, but she had no other option. She wanted to get the weight off her chest, and also get suggestions to deal with the matter.

"Nana," she whispered softly. "Please sleep with me today, in my bedroom." Claire pouted.

Her grandmother, sensing the distress in her voice, joined her, wrapping her arm around Claire's shoulders. After a long silence, Claire took a deep breath and shared everything—the morgue, the missing organs, Sister Milly's suspicions, and the ominous feeling that she'd uncovered something she shouldn't have.

Nana's eyes widened in horror, her lips pressing into a tight line. Claire hesitated to show the photos, knowing they would only disturb her further. Some things, she reasoned, were better left unseen.

After a minute of pondering Nana, hugged Claire and assured her, "Don't worry Princy. I'll ask someone to investigate this matter."

"But, Nana things will be exposed and–"

"I know you are brave, but I don't want you to get hurt. I support your decision to expose these inhuman and illegal activities. But you must be careful." Nana patted her head with concern.

After discussing the matter and results, Claire was exhausted and fell asleep in her Nana's lap. As Nana looked at her, her eyes were filled with concern, and pride.

She sighed knowing that Claire wouldn't stop even if she persuade her, so she decided to support her execute this matter.