Chapter 15 - THE UNCLE WHO WASN'T FAMILY|
Dominic ordered the hospital's security footage before the child finished speaking.
Grace sat beside Laura, clutching her rabbit. Margaret had taken her to the waiting room, where a nurse promised to bring her juice and crackers.
Laura watched Dominic speak to the head of security.
“Show me every visitor who entered the pediatric wing in the last month.”
“We need authorization.”
“You have it.”
The guard hesitated.
“Mr. Romano, the hospital director—”
“Then call him.”
Within twenty minutes, the footage appeared on a monitor in a private conference room.
A man in a gray coat entered the pediatric wing on a Tuesday afternoon. He spoke briefly with the receptionist, showed an identification card, and walked toward Grace's room.
Dominic leaned closer.
“Zoom in.”
The image sharpened.
Laura recognized the face.
“That's Thomas.”
Dominic turned.
“Who?”
“He worked in the house. He used to bring my meals before they moved me to the tunnel.”
The man on the screen looked directly into the camera.
Dominic's expression hardened.
“Find him.”
A guard checked the visitor records.
“His name is Thomas Reeve. Former estate security. He was dismissed two years ago.”
“Where is he now?”
“We're tracing him.”
Laura looked at the screen.
“He told Grace I wasn't coming back.”
Dominic nodded.
“He won't get near her again.”
“Don't promise what you can't control.”
Dominic accepted the correction.
“Then I'll do everything I can to make sure he can't.”
The security chief found a second clip. Thomas was leaving the hospital with a woman wearing a medical uniform. She carried a small envelope.
The guard paused the footage.
“That's not hospital staff.”
“Can you identify her?”
“Not yet.”
Dominic called Elena.
She answered on the first ring.
“Did you find the records?”
“Later. Who is the woman in this photograph?”
He sent the image.
Elena went silent.
“That's Dr. Bell's assistant,” she said.
“Name?”
“Catherine Wells. She handled the medical files.”
“Where is she?”
“I don't know.”
“Find her.”
A few minutes later, Elena called back.
“Catherine was seen at the old chapel yesterday.”
Dominic looked at Laura.
The chapel.
The place where Dr. Bell said the original records were hidden.
“Get the agents,” he said.
“I already did.”
“No. I want to know what she took.”
Elena's voice tightened.
“Dominic, listen to me. Catherine has a copy of the original trust document. She may also have the medical records. If she gives them to the Salazars, they'll know Grace is alive.”
Dominic's jaw clenched.
“Then we get there first.”
Laura pushed the blanket aside.
“I’m coming.”
“No.”
She looked at him.
“You said you wouldn't make decisions for me.”
He stopped.
“You're recovering.”
“And Grace is my daughter. If someone is using her name to threaten us, I have a right to know why.”
Dominic glanced at the physician, who had entered the room.
“She can travel with medical supervision,” the doctor said. “But she cannot be exposed to physical danger.”
Dominic nodded.
“Then she stays behind me.”
Laura's expression hardened.
“I am not asking you to put me behind anything. I'm asking you to stop treating me like a possession.”
He looked down.
“You're right.”
It was the first time he had said those words without adding an excuse.
They reached the chapel shortly before midnight. Federal agents secured the main entrance while Dominic's men checked the side passages.
Inside, the old building smelled of dust and damp wood. A row of empty pews faced an altar covered with a white sheet.
Catherine Wells stood beside the rear door.
She held a document case.
“Don't move,” an agent called.
Catherine dropped the case.
Then she reached into her coat.
Dominic drew his weapon.
“Hands where I can see them!”
Catherine froze.
Laura stepped into the doorway.
“Catherine?”
The woman looked at her, and fear spread across her face.
“Mrs. Romano. You shouldn't be here.”
“Where is my daughter's medical record?”
Catherine's eyes flicked toward the altar.
Before anyone could move, a shot shattered the stained-glass window.
The lights went out.
Someone grabbed Laura from behind.
May you like
And a familiar voice whispered in her ear:
“Your husband still doesn't know what happened the night you gave birth.”
