Inside my walls

AIDEN BLACK

No one spoke after that.

“…someone doesn’t want him to wake up.”

Her words stayed in the room.

Heavy, uncomfortable and true. 

I didn’t react immediately. Didn’t move. Didn’t speak neither.

I just looked at my brother.

Same position. Same stillness. The same quiet that had haunted me for three years.

Nothing had changed, except now.

There was a reason.

I exhaled slowly, dragging my gaze away from him.

“Say it again,” I said.

Isabel didn’t hesitate. “Someone altered his records.”

Her voice was steady. No fear and doubt.

Just certainty.

I turned to her.

“You’re sure?”

“Yes.”

No pause.

No second-guessing.

Something about that… settled something in me.

Not comfort.

Clarity.

I nodded once.

Then turned.

“Marcus.”

He stepped forward immediately. “Sir.”

“Who has access to his medical records?”

“Authorized personnel only,” he replied.

“That’s not what I asked.”

A brief pause.

Then…

“Myself. The medical team. And… internal clearance.”

Internal.

“List them,” I said.

Marcus hesitated for half a second. That was all it took.

“Now.”

“Yes, sir.”

He pulled out his tablet quickly, scrolling. “Senior staff. Security clearance level three and above. A few of your trusted…”

“Names.”

He started listing them.

One after the other.

Familiar.

Every single one.

People I had allowed into this space.

People I trusted.

I didn’t react outwardly.

Didn’t interrupt.

But I felt it.

That shift.

Slow.

Cold.

“Who accessed the records last?” I asked.

Marcus stopped scrolling.

“…I’ll need to confirm that.”

“Do it.”

He stepped aside immediately, already making the call.

Silence returned.

I didn’t look at Isabel. But I was aware of her. The way she moved. Focused. Controlled. Already going through the file again like nothing else in the room mattered.

Not intimidated.

Not overwhelmed.

Just… working.

“You believe this easily,” I said. She didn’t look up. “I believe what I see.”

“And you saw enough?”

She flipped a page. “More than enough.” I watched her for a second. Most people would hesitate. Doubt themselves.

Second-guess.

She didn’t.

“Then don’t be wrong,” I said.

That made her pause.

Just briefly.

Then she looked up at me.

“I’m not.”

No attitude.

No challenge.

Just a fact.

Something unfamiliar settled in my chest. Not trust but close enough.

I turned away again, my gaze landing back on my brother.

Three years.

Three years of searching for  the best doctors, of flying specialists across countries.

And still..

Nothing.

My jaw tightened.

I remembered the first night.

The collapse.

The panic.

The way his body had gone was still in my arms.

And before that..

Her.

Gone.

Just like that.

In one night, I lost one… and started losing another.

I closed my eyes briefly.

Not now.

“Sir.”

Marcus’s voice pulled me back.

I turned.

“What?”

He looked… tense.

That was new.

“I checked the access logs,” he said carefully.

“And?”

“There was activity.”

“When?”

“A few days ago.”

My expression didn’t change.

“Who?”

Marcus hesitated.

That was enough.

“Say it,” I said quietly.

“It was authorized access.”

My patience thinned. “Marcus.”

He exhaled.

Then.. “It came from inside the house.”

Silence.

Deep.

Sharp.

I didn’t move.

Didn’t speak.

But something in me… shifted.

“Trace it,” I said.

“We’re trying, but the logs were partially wiped.”

Of course they were.

“Then find what wasn’t wiped.”

“Yes, sir.”

I turned slightly, my gaze drifting across the room.

Every corner.

Every machine.

Every detail I had ignored before.

This place was supposed to be secure.

Untouchable.

No one got in unless I allowed it.

Which meant.. Whoever did this…

Was already in.

“Who was on duty that day?” I asked.

Marcus checked quickly. “Rotational staff. Security. Medical assistants.”

“Anyone new?”

A pause.

“…No.”

That wasn’t reassuring.

“Then it’s someone old,” I said.

Someone I had already trusted.

Behind me, I heard movement.

Isabel.

I glanced at her.

She had stopped flipping through the file.

Her eyes were on the patient again.

Focused.

Thinking.

“What?” I asked.

She didn’t answer immediately.

Then..

“They didn’t just alter records.”

I frowned slightly. “Explain.”

She stepped closer to the bed.

Pointed at one of the lines.

“This dosage,” she said. “It’s too precise.”

“That’s a problem?”

“Yes.”

She looked at me now.

“For someone in his condition, adjustments should vary. Slight changes. Reactions.”

She tapped the file lightly.

“This doesn’t react.”

I walked closer.

“Meaning?”

Her voice dropped slightly.

“Whoever handled this… wasn’t treating him.”

A pause.

Then…

“They were maintaining him.”

The words settled slowly.

Dangerously.

“For what?” I asked.

She held my gaze.

“I don’t know yet.”

Silence again.

But this time…

It wasn’t empty.

It was a building.

Marcus stepped forward again. “Sir… there’s something else.”

I didn’t look at him.

“Speak.”

“The access point…”

That hesitation again.

I turned.

His expression told me everything before he spoke.

“It didn’t come from the system room,” he said.

“Or the main office.”

A beat.

Then—

“It came from this wing.”

My gaze snapped back to him.

“This room?” I asked.

“Yes, sir.”

A cold stillness settled over me.

Slowly…

I turned my head.

I looked around.

At the machines.

The monitors.

The bed.

At the space I had protected for three years.

And for the first time, It didn’t feel secure.

It felt watched.

Behind me, Isabel spoke quietly.

“…then they’ve been closer than we thought.”

I didn’t respond.

Because I already understood.

This wasn’t an outsider.

This wasn’t random.

This was someone who knew this place.

Knew my routines.

knew my brother. Knew me.

My jaw tightened slightly.

“Lock this wing down,” I said.

“No one enters without my approval.”

Marcus nodded. “Yes, sir.”

I didn’t move from where I stood.

Didn’t look away.

Because one thing was clear now.

This wasn’t just about saving my brother anymore, It was about finding out who had been standing this close to him…all this time.