Chapter 18 - The Doctor Who Knew Claire's Name|
Nathan reached the cardiac institute before sunrise.
Patricia Hargrove was waiting in a private consultation room when he arrived. She was in her early fifties, with dark hair threaded with silver and the controlled manner of someone accustomed to delivering difficult news.
“You requested a meeting,” she said.
“I did.”
“Your wife is making progress. I hope this is not about her care.”
“It is about your father.”
Patricia's expression changed almost imperceptibly.
“Dr. Hargrove has been dead for eight years.”
“He approved my mother's transfer, then signed a report claiming the family had canceled it.”
She folded her hands.
“My father was a respected physician.”
“He was also paid to falsify a medical record.”
Patricia stood.
“I will not discuss allegations based on incomplete information.”
Nathan placed the documents on the table.
“Then help me complete the information.”
She glanced at the records and went pale.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Finally, she sat down.
“My father told me that Rose Mercer had refused the transfer.”
“Was that true?”
“I don't know.”
“Did he tell you about the payment?”
“No.”
Nathan watched her carefully.
“You manage the institute where my wife is recovering. You have access to her medical records. Someone sent me a photograph of her entering the building before her surgery.”
Patricia's expression hardened.
“Are you accusing me of interfering with your wife's care?”
“I am asking whether you knew who she was before she was admitted.”
She did not answer.
Nathan stepped closer.
“Did you?”
Patricia looked away.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I recognized the Mercer name. I wanted to know whether the records connected to your mother were still being investigated.”
“Did you contact anyone about Claire?”
“No.”
“Did you send the photograph?”
“No.”
Nathan studied her face.
He believed she was telling the truth about the photograph, but he was not convinced she had disclosed everything.
“Then help us establish what happened. Give the investigators access to your father's files.”
Patricia shook her head.
“I cannot release confidential medical records without authorization.”
“Then preserve them and cooperate with the legal process.”
She nodded slowly.
“I will.”
Nathan returned to Claire's room and found her awake.
“You look like you haven't slept,” she said.
“I haven't.”
“Then sit down before you fall over.”
He obeyed.
He told her about Patricia Hargrove, the altered records, and the latest development in the investigation.
Claire listened without interrupting.
When he finished, she asked, “Do you believe she is responsible?”
“I don't know.”
“Good.”
Nathan frowned.
“Good?”
“You used to decide what people were guilty of before you knew all the facts. At least now you're willing to admit uncertainty.”
He let out a quiet breath.
“I have a great deal to learn.”
“Yes.”
Claire shifted carefully against her pillows.
“Dr. Hale says I can begin walking tomorrow.”
Nathan smiled.
“That is good news.”
“It is. But I want to make something clear.”
He waited.
“My recovery is not a test of whether we should stay married. I need to get well for myself.”
“I understand.”
“If I decide to leave, I don't want you to treat it as a temporary punishment.”
“I won't.”
She looked at him.
“And I don't want you making promises you cannot keep.”
Nathan nodded.
“Then I will make none.”
For several minutes, they spoke about ordinary things. Claire asked about the company. Nathan told her that the employees' salaries were secure for the next three months and that an independent management team had been appointed.
She asked about Samuel.
“He is fine,” Nathan said. “He has threatened to retire three times this week.”
Claire smiled.
“He has been threatening to retire since I met him.”
Nathan laughed softly.
It was the first time Claire had heard him laugh without bitterness in months.
The moment passed, but it left something warm behind.
Later that afternoon, Nathan received an email from the investigators.
The hospital had recovered a backup of the original authorization. It identified the person who had ordered the final cancellation.
The signature was not Daniel's.
It was not Charles's.
It was not Martin's.
The authorization had been signed by a hospital executive whose name had been removed from the official record.
Nathan opened the attached scan.
At the bottom was the signature of Dr. Samuel Hargrove.
Beside it was a handwritten instruction.
Do not transfer Rose Mercer under any circumstances.
Nathan stared at the document.
For twenty-three years, he had believed his father was the sole architect of his mother's final betrayal.
Now he understood that Daniel had been part of a network of people who had chosen money, fear, and self-preservation over a woman's life.
But the investigation had finally reached its end.
Or so he thought.
A second email arrived.
The original document contains a second page. It was omitted from the copy.
Nathan opened it.
The second page contained the reason for the cancellation.
Patient's condition may expose a hereditary cardiac defect. Immediate family members should be screened.
Nathan felt the blood drain from his face.
May you like
The note had been written before Rose died.
And it meant that someone had known the Mercer family carried a potentially fatal heart condition long before Claire's doctors diagnosed her.
