I TRIED TO GIVE MY MOM HER MEDICATION AND THE NURSE FROZE.
The nurse’s eyes widened, and her hand shot out to stop me before I could open the pill bottle. “What are you doing?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper in the silent, sterile room. “Mom needs her blood pressure pills. They’re due.” The air conditioner hummed, making the quiet feel even colder, pressing in around us.
She gripped my wrist, her fingers cold and surprisingly firm. “Honey, we urgently need to talk about your mother’s chart. This isn’t what it says here. Not at all.” Her gaze darted nervously to the closed door, then back to me, a strange, almost frantic urgency in her eyes that made my stomach clench.
“But… I just picked them up from the pharmacy this morning,” I stammered, pulling my hand away. “She’s been taking these exact pills for years, twice a day, like clockwork. What could possibly be wrong?” A sudden, metallic tang filled my mouth as a heavy sense of dread began to creep in, chilling me to the bone.
“That’s precisely the problem,” she said, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, so low I had to lean in to hear. “According to *her* official records, to *this* patient’s file, she’s never been prescribed this medication. Not once. Never.” Just as I was about to demand an explanation, a loud, sharp knock echoed from the hallway, making us both jump.
Then a familiar voice boomed, “Is everything alright in here, Nurse Jenkins? I heard something.”
👇 Full story continued in the comments…Nurse Jenkins visibly stiffened, her eyes darting to the door again, her grip tightening on her own hands. “Just fine, Dr. Miller!” she called back, her voice strained. “Just… checking vitals.”
The heavy feeling in my stomach intensified, twisting into a knot. “What is going on?” I demanded, my voice rising despite my best efforts to keep it steady. “Is this some kind of mistake? Can we just… check again?”
Jenkins shook her head, her expression a mixture of fear and desperation. “I can’t, not here. Not now.” She glanced around the room, her gaze landing on the window. “Meet me outside. Ten minutes. By the oak tree in the courtyard. Please.”
Before I could respond, she turned and moved with brisk efficiency, adjusting the IV drip and straightening the sheets on my mother’s bed. Then, with a forced smile, she said, “Everything’s under control. Just… go get some air. We’ll sort this out.”
I felt a wave of confusion and disbelief wash over me. My mother’s chart? Medication she’d been taking for years? This felt like some elaborate, cruel joke. But the look in Nurse Jenkins’ eyes, the urgency in her voice, told me it was anything but.
I left the room, the sterile environment now feeling suffocating. My legs felt heavy as I walked towards the exit. The hallway seemed to stretch on forever, the fluorescent lights buzzing overhead. As soon as I was out of sight of the room, I practically ran towards the courtyard, the oak tree my only beacon of hope.
I found Jenkins standing there, nervously pacing beneath the tree’s sprawling branches. The warm sunlight felt like a betrayal against the chill that had settled deep within me.
“What’s happening?” I asked, my voice trembling. “What is this about?”
She took a deep breath, her gaze avoiding mine. “Your mother… she isn’t who you think she is.”
My heart pounded in my chest, a frantic drumbeat. “What are you talking about?”
Jenkins finally looked at me, her eyes filled with a mixture of pity and fear. “Her records… they don’t match. Her name, her history, everything… it’s all wrong. I’ve seen it before, in other cases… it’s someone else’s identity. They have been using the fake idendity to stay hidden. And as your mother gets worse, I’m realizing she can no longer remain hidden.”
“And the medication?” I asked. “What about the medication?”
“The medication,” Jenkins said softly, “is a new drug that doctors have only started using a few times. Your mother does not have the condition it is used for. That is only one reason why she may be in danger.”
Before I could respond, a man in a crisp white coat emerged from the building, his face grim. It was Dr. Miller. He saw us and his eyes widened in alarm.
“You were right, Jenkins! She is in danger of exposing the entire operation!” Miller shouted before turning to me, a menacing glint in his eyes. “You are the only loose end. Do not move. It’s a shame it has to end this way.”
I looked at Jenkins, hoping to find a solution, but she only shook her head, backing away.
I spun to run, but before I could take a step, a figure stepped out of the shadows and placed himself between me and the Doctor. It was my “mother”, but she was not the person I thought she was. The man in the white coat reached for something in his pocket, and “my mother” pushed him away. She grabbed his arm, and with a swift, practiced move, twisted it behind his back. He yelped in pain and fell to the ground.
“Run!” she shouted, her voice filled with an unfamiliar authority that made my blood run cold. I hesitated for a moment, stunned. “Go! They will try to stop you! Find the truth!”
I turned and ran, the sounds of struggle fading behind me. As I ran, I knew I had to uncover the truth, no matter the cost. My entire world had just been turned upside down, and the woman I thought I knew was nothing but a shadow of someone I didn’t.