Chapter 3 - THE DOCTOR WHO VANISHED
Dominic reached Rose's former home seventeen minutes after the first call.
The small brick house stood at the end of a quiet residential street, its front door hanging open. Police sirens sounded in the distance, but no one had yet secured the property.
Marcus Reed's SUV was parked across the street.
The windshield was shattered.
Dominic drew his weapon before stepping inside.
“Marcus!”
A groan came from the kitchen.
Dominic found his head of security sitting against a cabinet, one hand pressed to a bleeding cut above his eyebrow.
“I'm fine,” Marcus muttered.
“Who did this?”
“Two men. They were already inside when we arrived.”
“Did they take anything?”
Marcus shook his head.
“They were looking for something. They searched every room, then left when they heard our vehicles.”
Dominic helped him stand.
“Did you see their faces?”
“One wore a surgical mask. The other had a scar across his neck.”
Dominic remembered the photograph of Dr. Samuel Reed.
The doctor had been clean-shaven in the old picture, but a scar could have appeared later.
“Did either man mention Rose?”
Marcus nodded.
“One said, 'The old woman took the original.'”
“What original?”
“I don't know.”
Dominic moved into the living room.
Rose's belongings had been left behind: a wool blanket folded over the couch, a chipped teacup on the windowsill, and a stack of books beside a lamp. On the mantel stood a photograph of Rose with a much younger Antonio.
Behind the photograph, Dominic found a small folded card.
It contained a telephone number and a handwritten note.
If they come looking for the medical records, call Samuel.
Dominic dialed.
The number had been disconnected.
He searched the rest of the house.
In the bedroom, he found an empty space beneath the floorboards where a small safe had been removed. Dust outlined its former position.
Someone had beaten him to the evidence.
“Sir,” Marcus called from the hallway.
Dominic joined him.
Marcus held a thin piece of paper recovered from the front steps.
It was a receipt from a private medical laboratory in Milwaukee, dated three days earlier. The patient name was listed as Antonio Moretti.
Dominic stared at it.
“Why would my father have medical work done in Milwaukee?”
“Maybe he didn't,” Marcus replied.
Dominic looked up.
“Explain.”
“The receipt could have been planted. But if it's real, someone has been testing something related to your father's condition.”
Dominic's mind raced.
The old medical report had mentioned toxic exposure. Antonio had been paralyzed for twenty years. If the original diagnosis was correct, perhaps his condition had never been properly investigated.
He called the laboratory.
A receptionist transferred him to a supervisor, who refused to discuss patient records without authorization.
Dominic gave his full name.
There was a long pause.
Then the supervisor said, “Mr. Moretti, we've been expecting your call.”
Dominic froze.
“Who requested the tests?”
“An attorney acting on behalf of your father.”
“Name?”
“Victor Moretti.”
Dominic ended the call.
Victor had not merely known about the hidden compartment. He had been investigating Antonio's medical condition himself.
Why?
Unless he feared that the truth was about to surface.
***
Back at the mansion, Antonio was waiting in the library.
Rachel sat beside him, holding a cup of tea he hadn't touched.
Vanessa stood near the fireplace, her arms folded tightly across her chest.
Dominic placed the laboratory receipt on the desk.
“Did you know Victor had you tested?”
Antonio looked at the paper.
“No.”
“Have you experienced any recent changes in your condition?”
The old man hesitated.
“My left hand has been stronger lately.”
Dominic stared.
“What?”
“Not much. I can move two fingers more easily than I could last year.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I didn't want to give you false hope.”
Dominic crouched beside his father.
“Dad, if someone poisoned you, we need to know whether it's still affecting you.”
Antonio looked away.
“I've spent twenty years being told there was nothing anyone could do.”
“Then we'll find someone who tells us the truth.”
Rachel leaned forward.
“Mrs. Bennett used to say that doctors can mistake a locked door for a wall. Sometimes you just need the right key.”
Dominic looked at her.
“Rose said that?”
“She said it when I asked why she kept so many medical papers.”
“Did she have any papers about your father's condition?”
Rachel nodded slowly.
“She had a small notebook. She called it the blue ledger.”
Dominic's pulse quickened.
“Where is it?”
“I don't know. She kept it in a locked drawer at the nursing home. After she died, the administrator said her personal belongings had been collected by a relative.”
“Did Rose have relatives?”
Rachel shook her head.
“Not that I knew of.”
Vanessa suddenly straightened.
“What did the notebook look like?”
Dominic turned toward her.
“Why?”
She swallowed.
“Because I saw it once.”
“Where?”
“In Victor's study.”
The room went silent.
Vanessa continued, “About six months ago, I visited him at his country house. He was arguing with someone over the telephone. When he ended the call, he opened a drawer and took out a blue notebook. He said it was the only thing Rose had failed to destroy.”
Dominic stood.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I didn't know what it meant.”
“You knew enough to recognize the key.”
“I knew Victor was frightened of Rose. I didn't know why.”
Dominic walked toward the window.
The pieces were beginning to connect.
Rose had preserved the original medical records. Victor had spent twenty years concealing them. Someone had recently removed a safe from Rose's home, and the old doctor had suddenly reappeared.
The evidence was not simply about a property dispute.
It was about a crime that had never stopped being profitable.
Dominic turned to Marcus.
“Find Samuel Reed. I want his current address, medical licenses, travel records, everything.”
Marcus nodded and left.
Vanessa approached Dominic.
“You need to listen to me.”
He didn't turn.
“I'm listening.”
“Victor isn't working alone. He has someone inside your organization.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“Then why are you so certain?”
“Because he knew about the key before I did. He knew you were at the old estate. And he knew when you opened the envelope.”
Dominic looked at her.
“You're suggesting someone is reporting to him.”
“Yes.”
“Who has access to my security reports, my vehicles, and my private schedule?”
Vanessa said nothing.
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
“Marcus.”
“No,” she whispered. “I don't think it's him.”
“Then who?”
Vanessa looked toward Rachel.
The young maid went still.
“Don't,” Rachel said.
Vanessa's voice trembled.
“I saw you speaking to a man outside the west gate last week.”
Rachel stared at her.
“He was delivering groceries.”
“He gave you an envelope.”
“He gave me my paycheck from the staffing agency.”
Dominic watched Rachel carefully.
“Did you tell anyone about the key before today?”
“No.”
“Did you know Victor was looking for it?”
“No.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“You're taking her word over mine?”
“I'm asking questions.”
Rachel rose from her chair.
“Mrs. Bennett told me something before she died. She said if anyone accused me of stealing, I should remember that the truth doesn't become a lie just because a powerful person repeats it.”
Dominic studied her face.
He believed she was telling the truth.
But he also knew trust could be used as a weapon.
His phone rang.
Marcus.
“Sir, we found Dr. Reed.”
“Where?”
“Milwaukee. He has a private clinic under a different name.”
“Bring him in.”
Marcus hesitated.
“There's a problem.”
“What?”
“Dr. Reed is dead.”
Dominic closed his eyes.
“How?”
“Someone shot him two hours ago.”
A pause followed.
Then Marcus added, “And the police found a note in his pocket.”
“What did it say?”
Marcus's voice dropped.
“Ask Antonio what happened to Catherine before the car crash.”
Dominic slowly lowered the phone.
His mother had died twenty years earlier.
May you like
And for the first time, he wondered whether her death had been an accident at all.
---
