Chapter 8 - THE DOCTOR'S CONFESSION
Daniel moved first.
He shoved Dominic behind the desk as Reeves raised the gun.
“Put it down!” Daniel shouted.
Reeves's hand shook.
“You don't understand what you're interfering with.”
Dominic rose slowly.
“You've been falsifying records about my family for years.”
Reeves laughed nervously.
“I did what I was paid to do.”
“By Richard Sterling?”
The doctor's eyes flicked toward the hallway.
That was answer enough.
Dominic stepped away from the desk.
“Who paid you to declare my mother dead?”
Reeves's jaw tightened.
“I didn't kill her.”
“That's not what I asked.”
“I signed what I was told to sign.”
“By whom?”
Reeves's grip on the gun weakened.
“Michael Moretti brought her to me. She was injured after the accident. She was alive, but she didn't want to return to the family.”
Dominic felt his anger shift into something more painful.
“Why?”
“Because she believed your father had been murdered. She said the family would never let her speak freely.”
“And you helped her disappear?”
Reeves nodded.
“I arranged the medical paperwork. Michael arranged the transport. Richard Sterling paid for the new identity.”
Dominic stared at him.
“Why would Richard help my mother?”
“Because he wanted control of the family trust. Your father had left provisions that would have prevented him from accessing certain accounts. Isabella knew where the original documents were.”
“And Elena found out.”
“Yes.”
“What happened to Elena?”
Reeves looked toward the gun in his hand as though he'd forgotten he was holding it.
“She came to me the night before she died. She had evidence that someone had altered your father's medication. She wanted me to verify the records.”
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
“And then?”
“I called Richard. I thought I could negotiate.”
Dominic stepped forward.
“You gave him her location.”
Reeves lowered his head.
“Yes.”
The admission seemed to drain the room of air.
Dominic's voice became quiet.
“And what happened after you betrayed her?”
“I was told to keep silent. Richard said Elena was leaving the country and that no one would be harmed.”
“You believed him?”
Reeves's face crumpled.
“I wanted to believe him.”
Daniel moved closer, carefully watching the gun.
“Put it down, Doctor.”
Reeves looked at Dominic.
“I never touched your wife. I never wanted her dead.”
“But you helped the people who did.”
The doctor's eyes filled.
“Yes.”
For several seconds, Dominic said nothing.
Then he asked the question that had haunted him since he watched the hidden video.
“Where is my mother?”
Reeves hesitated.
“She's alive. But if you find her, you must understand that she has been living under another identity for years.”
“Where?”
“I don't know her current address. Michael arranged everything.”
Dominic looked toward Daniel.
“Call the police. Secure the evidence.”
Reeves panicked.
“No! You can't let them take me.”
“Why not?”
“Because Richard will have me killed before I reach a courtroom.”
Dominic stared at him.
“Then tell the truth before he gets the chance.”
Reeves slowly placed the gun on the floor.
Daniel took it and restrained him.
Within minutes, the police arrived. Reeves agreed to give a formal statement, and Margaret Hayes arranged for the medical records and video files to be copied and preserved.
Dominic left the office with Elena's note in his pocket.
He had expected to find a monster.
Instead, he had found a frightened man who had helped monsters hide their crimes.
That didn't make him innocent.
But it meant the truth was larger than Dominic had imagined.
On the drive home, Daniel received a call.
He listened, then looked at Dominic.
“Sir, we've located Vanessa.”
“Where?”
“She went to a private airfield.”
Dominic's expression hardened.
“Is she leaving the country?”
“Her flight plan lists Canada. But she hasn't boarded.”
“Bring her in for questioning.”
Daniel hesitated.
“There's another issue. Richard Sterling has filed an emergency motion to have Sophie removed from your custody pending the hearing.”
Dominic stared out the window.
“On what grounds?”
“He claims you're using threats and intimidation to interfere with witnesses.”
Dominic let out a cold laugh.
“Of course he does.”
When he arrived at the mansion, Hannah met him at the door.
Sophie was asleep, but Hannah had noticed a car parked across the road for nearly an hour.
“It's gone now,” she said, “but someone left this at the gate.”
She handed him a small envelope.
Inside was a photograph of Sophie sitting on the garden bench.
On the back, a message had been written in block letters:
THE CHILD YOU'RE SEARCHING FOR IS NOT THE CHILD YOU THINK.
Dominic looked up.
“What child?”
Hannah shook her head.
“I don't know.”
He turned the photograph over again.
The image showed Sophie with Mr. Buttons in her lap.
But there was something strange about the picture.
A second child's shadow stretched across the grass beside her.
The shadow didn't belong to Hannah.
It didn't belong to either guard.
It appeared to come from someone standing just outside the frame.
Dominic examined the image carefully.
Then he noticed a reflection in the garden window.
A little girl.
Brown curls.
Blue eyes.
A dimple in her left cheek.
The same features described in the note hidden inside the teddy bear.
Dominic felt his heart stop.
The child in the reflection was not Sophie.
May you like
She was another little girl.
And she was standing outside his house.
