The Doctor's Dilemma

Dr. Ryan Archer's POV

Blood dripped from Amy Rodriguez's split lip onto my examination table as she whispered the words that made my hands freeze.

"Doctor, they're taking three more girls tonight."

I almost dropped the cleaning bottle. Five years of keeping Marcus Daniels' secrets had taught me to expect the worst, but hearing it from a seventeen-year-old victim still hit me like a punch to the gut.

"Amy, you need to stay quiet," I said, checking the door to make sure no one could hear us. "Speaking up will only get you killed."

She grabbed my wrist with surprising strength. "You don't understand. One of them is my little sister Maria. She's only fifteen."

My stomach dropped. Maria Rodriguez worked part-time cleaning the fish plant after school. Sweet kid who always said hello when she saw me in town. I'd watched her grow up from a gap-toothed kid to a beautiful teenager who reminded me too much of another girl I'd failed to save.

"How do you know about tonight?" I asked, cleaning the rope burns on her arms. Each mark told a story I didn't want to hear.

"I heard them talking when they thought I was unconscious. Mr. Daniels has a buyer coming in from overseas. Someone who pays extra for younger girls." Amy's voice cracked. "They're going to put Maria, Jennifer Walsh, and Chloe Martinez on a boat that leaves at midnight."

Chloe Martinez. I knew that name from the missing person reports, but seeing Amy living meant Chloe might still have a chance.

"Amy, listen to me carefully," I said, bandaging her hands. "You can't tell anyone else about this. Marcus has friends everywhere. If word gets back to him that you escaped and talked..."

"Then help me!" she begged. "You're a doctor. People trust you. Call the cops in the next town over. Call the FBI. Call someone who isn't on Marcus Daniels' payroll."

I looked at her desperate face and saw another girl from five years ago. Sarah Mitchell had sat in this same chair, begging me to help her leave. She'd been sixteen, pregnant, and afraid of what Marcus would do when he found out she knew about the shipping operation.

I'd tried to help Sarah. Made plans for her to move to another state where she could have her baby safely. But Marcus found out about our plan before we could perform it.

The memory hit me like it always did – sharp and painful. Sarah's body at the bottom of the courtroom steps. The fake suicide note that fooled everyone except me. Marcus standing at her funeral, patting my shoulder and saying how sorry he was for my "patient's tragic decision."

That night, Marcus visited my office with photos of Sarah's beaten face and a simple message: "Accidents happen to doctors who don't mind their own business. But they happen to their families first."

My sister lived in Portland with her two young kids. Marcus knew their school plans, their favorite restaurants, even their bedtime routines. The word was clear – keep quiet or watch innocent people die.

For five years, I'd told myself I was protecting my family by staying silent. I treated the injuries Marcus's operation caused, asked no questions, and filed records that covered up the truth. Each lie made the next one easy until lying became as natural as breathing.

But now Amy Rodriguez sat in front of me, and I could see Sarah Mitchell in her eyes. Both girls asking the same difficult question: Will you save me, or will you save yourself? "Dr. Archer," Amy whispered. "I know you're scared. I know Mr. Daniels threatens people to keep them quiet. But if you don't help me, Maria dies tonight. And tomorrow it'll be someone else's little sister."

My hands shook as I finished bandaging her cuts. Through the window, I could see Marcus Daniels' police car parked across the street. He wasn't even hiding the fact that he was watching my workshop.

"There's something you need to know about me," I said quietly. "Five years ago, I tried to help a girl like you. Her name was Sarah Mitchell."

Amy's eyes widened. "The girl who killed herself at the courthouse?"

"She didn't kill herself. Marcus killed her because I tried to help her escape." The words felt like broken glass in my throat. "I've kept quiet ever since because I'm a coward who chose his own safety over doing what's right."

Amy studied my face for a long moment. Then she said something that changed everything.

"My sister Maria? She's not just any fifteen-year-old. She's been keeping a log about the weird things she's seen at the plant. Names, times, license plate numbers. She hid it somewhere safe and told me if anything happened to her, I should give it to the cops."

A diary. With evidence. With information that could bring down Marcus Daniels and save dozens of girls.

"Where is this diary?" I asked.

"That's the trouble. Maria's the only one who knows where she hid it. If Marcus ships her out tonight, that proof disappears forever."

I looked out the window again. Marcus was still there, waiting. But for the first time in five years, I felt something stronger than fear.

I felt meaning.

"Amy," I said, making the choice that would either save lives or get us both killed. "I'm going to help you. But we're not just saving your sister. We're going to stop Marcus Daniels forever."

Amy's face lit up with hope. "How?"

I pulled out my phone and started dialing a number I'd learned but never had the courage to use. The direct line to the FBI's human trafficking task team.

"Hello," I said when someone answered. "My name is Dr. Ryan Archer in Moonfall Bay, California. I have information about a trafficking operation, and I need help quickly. Lives depend on it."

As I spoke, I watched Marcus's cruiser start up and drive slowly past my office. Our eyes met through the window, and his smile was cold enough to freeze hell.

That's when I realized he'd been listening to every word I'd just said.

The phone went dead in my hand.

Marcus owned the phone company too.