Chapter 5 - The Doctor's Second Patient
Norah spent the night in her car.
She had enough money in the envelope to cover her rent, but not enough to repair the sedan and pay the other bills waiting for her at home.
She could leave.
She should leave.
Instead, she called her former colleague, a senior emergency nurse named Rachel Miller.
Rachel answered on the fourth ring.
"Norah? It's been forever. Are you okay?"
"I need you to help me remember a patient."
Norah described Elena's accident and the unidentified man who had appeared at the hospital.
Rachel went quiet.
"Don't say that name over the phone."
Norah's stomach tightened.
"What name?"
"Bennett."
"Why?"
"Because he wasn't supposed to be in the emergency department that night."
Rachel explained that Dr. Bennett had arrived without being assigned to the case. He had insisted that Elena's medical records be restricted, claiming the patient was involved in a sensitive criminal investigation.
A senior administrator had approved the request.
Then the records disappeared from the department's ordinary system.
"Do you still have a copy?" Norah asked.
"No. But I remember something else. Elena was conscious for a few minutes before surgery. She asked someone to protect her son."
Norah closed her eyes.
"Who was with her?"
"Nobody from her family. A nurse from the recovery unit told me a man had been standing outside the room."
"The same man?"
"I don't know. But I remember what Elena said afterward."
"What?"
Rachel lowered her voice.
"She said, 'He promised he would come back.'"
The call ended abruptly when Rachel said someone had entered her office.
Norah stared at her phone.
Then she noticed a missed call from Leo.
She called him back.
"Dominic's condition has worsened," Leo said. "His fever is rising again."
"Has Dr. Bennett examined him?"
"Yes."
"Then why are you calling me?"
A long silence followed.
"Because Dominic asked for you."
Norah returned to the estate just before dawn.
Dominic looked worse than when she had left. His skin was clammy, and his breathing was shallow. He had refused food and barely touched his water.
Norah immediately requested medical reassessment.
When Bennett arrived, she asked for his latest examination findings.
He gave her a vague answer about inflammation and delayed recovery.
"Has he had repeat blood work?" she asked.
"That's not your concern."
"It becomes my concern when I'm asked to help manage his care."
Bennett's eyes narrowed.
"You were dismissed."
"Dominic asked me to return."
The doctor turned toward the bed.
"Mr. Rossi, you need to understand that this woman is becoming a liability."
Dominic's gaze shifted between them.
"Then answer her question."
Bennett hesitated.
"No repeat results are available yet."
"Why not?" Norah asked.
"Because I haven't ordered them."
"His fever is rising. His breathing is worse. He needs urgent reassessment."
Bennett snapped his case shut.
"I won't be lectured by a nurse who has been in this house for three days."
Dominic's voice was dangerously quiet.
"Order the tests."
The doctor stared at him.
Then he nodded stiffly.
When Bennett left, Norah checked Dominic's observations and arranged immediate medical evaluation. She did not allow the household to treat his deteriorating condition as another argument between powerful men.
Once the immediate crisis was being addressed, Dominic looked at her.
"You came back."
"You asked me to."
"Even after I accused you of lying?"
"I haven't decided whether I forgive you."
He gave a humorless laugh.
"Nobody talks to me like that."
"Maybe that's part of your problem."
For a moment, he looked almost human.
Then he reached for the envelope containing his sister's drawing.
"I want to know what happened to Elena."
"So do I."
"Why?"
"Because I cared for her. Because somebody may have hidden information about her death. And because your nephew might still be alive."
Dominic's expression changed at the last words.
He leaned forward despite the pain.
"What did you say?"
"Someone sent me a message telling me to ask about Bennett. I also spoke to a former colleague who remembers Elena asking someone to protect Mateo."
He closed his eyes.
"He's alive," he whispered.
"That's not proof."
"No. But it's enough to start looking."
He looked at her again.
"Will you help me?"
Norah considered the man who had thrown a book at her head, threatened her with a gun, and accused her of betraying a patient.
"I'll help you find the truth. That doesn't mean I'll help you hurt anyone."
Dominic held her gaze.
"Fair."
It was the first promise he had made that sounded like a promise rather than an order.
Later that morning, the laboratory results arrived.
Norah read them twice.
The infection was more severe than Bennett had suggested, and Dominic needed continued hospital-level care.
But there was something else.
His medical file showed that he had received medication he had never authorized, administered through a private supply managed by Bennett.
Norah looked up.
"Dominic, we need to find out exactly what you've been given."
He frowned.
"Why?"
"Because the records don't match what you've told me."
Before she could explain further, Leo entered holding a small plastic evidence bag.
Inside was a discarded medication vial.
He placed it on the table.
"I found this in Dr. Bennett's medical case."
Dominic looked at the label.
His face turned white.
The prescription bore his name.
But the dosage had been altered.
And beneath the label, someone had scratched a single word into the plastic.
May you like
ELENA.
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