Chapter 13 - THE DOCTOR'S FINAL LIE|
Dr. Bell stood at the end of the passage with a pistol raised.
He was older than the photograph Dominic had seen, his hair almost entirely white. His hands shook, but his aim did not.
“Step away from her,” he ordered.
Dominic moved in front of Laura.
“Put the gun down.”
“You don't give orders here.”
“You've been hiding beneath my property for three years. You think that makes you powerful?”
Dr. Bell laughed.
“I kept your family alive.”
Laura's fingers caught the back of Dominic's jacket.
“Don't believe him,” she whispered.
The doctor's eyes moved to her.
“You should be grateful, Mrs. Romano. You and your daughter are both alive because I followed instructions.”
“You told me my baby was dead,” Laura said.
“I told you what I was instructed to tell you.”
“You held her.”
“I delivered her.”
“And then you took her away.”
Dr. Bell's face tightened.
“Your husband was never supposed to find out.”
Dominic took a slow step forward.
“Who paid you?”
“Your father.”
“My father is dead.”
“His money isn't.”
Dominic glanced toward the tunnel entrance. His men were moving into position, but the passage was narrow. One wrong movement could put Laura in the line of fire.
“Where did the money go?”
“Ask Marco.”
“Marco is in federal custody.”
“Then ask the woman who gave you the flash drive.”
Elena.
Dominic felt Laura's hand tighten.
“What did Elena do?” Laura asked.
Dr. Bell hesitated.
“She arranged the transfer.”
“Of my daughter?”
“Yes.”
Laura stared at him.
“Why?”
“Because the trust required a living heir. Your daughter was the heir. Elena believed she could control the assets through a guardianship arrangement until Grace came of age.”
“And you helped her?”
“I was paid.”
Dominic raised his weapon.
“Where is the original birth record?”
Dr. Bell smiled.
“Gone.”
“Where?”
“I destroyed it.”
Laura stepped out from behind Dominic.
“You told me my daughter died. You made me believe I had failed her.”
The doctor looked at her.
“You were not the first mother to lose a child.”
Laura's expression changed.
“You don't get to speak about mothers.”
She reached for a loose metal pipe beside the wall and struck the emergency switch.
A loud alarm erupted. Red lights flashed along the ceiling. The ventilation fans stopped.
Dr. Bell flinched.
Dominic moved.
The doctor fired. The bullet struck the wall. Dominic hit him at the waist, and both men crashed against the stone. The gun slid across the floor.
One of Dominic's men rushed in and secured Dr. Bell's hands.
Dominic stood, breathing hard.
“Laura, are you hurt?”
She shook her head.
Then she looked at the doctor.
“Where is the original record?”
Dr. Bell said nothing.
Dominic crouched in front of him.
“You're going to answer her.”
The doctor finally spoke.
“There's a storage room beneath the old chapel. Your father kept everything there. The ledger, the medical records, the trust papers. Elena was supposed to collect them after the engagement.”
Dominic glanced at Laura.
“The engagement?”
Dr. Bell nodded.
“The plan was to announce the marriage, transfer control of the estate, and make Grace's guardianship permanent. Once the trust was secured, Laura would disappear.”
Laura's face went white.
“Disappear?”
“Marco had arranged a final transfer.”
Dominic's voice dropped.
“You were going to kill her?”
Dr. Bell looked at the floor.
No answer was necessary.
Dominic's men dragged him toward the entrance. He called after Laura.
“You should be careful. Your husband is not the man you think he is.”
Laura looked at Dominic.
For one terrible second, he feared she believed the doctor.
Then she said, “I know exactly what kind of man my husband is.”
She turned away.
“That's why I don't know whether I can ever trust him again.”
Dominic accepted the words without protest.
They left the tunnel together, but Laura refused to hold his hand. At the entrance, an officer wrapped a blanket around her shoulders and asked whether she wanted medical attention.
“Yes,” Laura answered.
Dominic moved toward her.
She lifted one hand.
“Not you.”
He stopped.
As the ambulance doors closed, Laura looked through the narrow window.
“Dominic?”
He stepped closer.
“I'm here.”
“Find the records. Find out what they did to Grace.”
“I will.”
“And don't make another decision for me.”
He nodded.
The ambulance pulled away.
Dominic turned toward the old chapel, where his father's secrets had been buried for twelve years.
But the first message waiting on his phone came from the hospital.
Mrs. Romano's blood tests are back. We need to speak with you about what happened during her captivity.
May you like
And beneath it was a second line:
There is evidence she may have been poisoned repeatedly.
