Chapter 4 - By sunrise, the estate had become a fortress.Security vehicles blocked every road.
The council members were still confined inside.
Arthur remained in the library.
Dr. Nathan Reed was missing.
Elliot Crane's phone had been traced to an abandoned motel.
And Daniel Rowan's existence had become a question nobody wanted to answer.
Dominic sat in the medical room while Mercer reviewed the X-rays recovered from Daniel's lockbox.
“These are not your scans,” Mercer said.
Dominic frowned.
“What are they?”
“Leg measurements.”
Mercer spread several images across the table.
“These belong to a patient with an old fracture.”
Dominic looked closer.
The patient number was blacked out.
“Can you identify the person?”
“No.”
“Then find out.”
Mercer looked uncomfortable.
“There’s something else.”
He pointed at the image.
“This fracture was deliberately treated with a surgical plate designed to limit movement.”
Dominic stared.
“What does that have to do with me?”
“I don't know.”
Then Mercer examined another file.
His face went pale.
“What's wrong?”
“This patient had the same hardware manufacturer as yours.”
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
“Coincidence?”
Mercer shook his head.
“No.”
Vincent entered.
“We found Reed.”
Dominic stood.
“Where?”
“Private clinic outside the city.”
“Take me.”
Mercer objected.
“Absolutely not.”
Dominic ignored him.
“I can walk.”
“You can barely walk.”
Dominic looked down at his leg.
“Yesterday I could barely walk because someone made sure of it.”
Nobody argued.
They drove to the clinic.
Police lights were already flashing outside.
Reed had been found unconscious in an examination room.
Not dead.
Drugged.
Dominic entered.
Nathan Reed lay on the floor with his wrists tied.
A note was taped to his chest.
YOU WERE NEVER THE TARGET.
Dominic stared at it.
“Wake him.”
Twenty minutes later, Reed opened his eyes.
His first words were:
“I didn't touch your brace.”
Dominic sat opposite him.
“Who did?”
Reed swallowed.
“I'm not supposed to tell you.”
“Then you'll have a problem.”
Reed looked at the guards.
“You don't understand.”
“Try me.”
Reed trembled.
“The brace wasn't meant to hurt you.”
Dominic's expression changed.
“What?”
“It was meant to create a medical pattern.”
“Explain.”
“Worsening nerve damage. Reduced mobility. Chronic inflammation. Failure to recover.”
“So?”
“So the next step would be surgery.”
Dominic went still.
“What surgery?”
Reed looked down.
“Amputation.”
Silence.
Mercer stared at him.
“That's insane.”
Reed shook his head.
“It isn't if the wrong scans are presented.”
Dominic's hands tightened.
“Someone was preparing a medical case to prove my leg was unsalvageable.”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
Reed hesitated.
“Arthur Voss.”
Vincent stepped forward.
“Proof?”
Reed reached under his mattress.
He pulled out a flash drive.
“I copied something before they came for me.”
Dominic took it.
“What is it?”
“A surgical authorization packet.”
“For me?”
“Yes.”
“Signed by whom?”
Reed looked at Mercer.
“Samuel Mercer.”
Mercer recoiled.
“I never signed that.”
Reed nodded.
“I know.”
He looked at Dominic.
“Someone forged your doctor's signature and your consent.”
Dominic's voice was cold.
“Where was the surgery supposed to happen?”
Reed gave him the name of a private hospital.
Then he whispered:
“Tomorrow.”
Vincent immediately made a call.
Dominic rose.
“Take us back.”
But before they reached the door, Reed grabbed Dominic's sleeve.
“There is something else.”
Dominic turned.
“The person running this isn't Arthur.”
Vincent stopped.
Reed looked terrified.
“Arthur approved the plan.”
“Then who runs it?”
Reed's lips moved.
Only once.
A name.
“Daniel.”
Clare's husband.
The man who had supposedly died three years ago.
Dominic stared at him.
“That is impossible.”
Reed shook his head.
“No.”
“Reed.”
“He's alive.”
Dominic felt the room tilt.
“He hired me.”
“For what?”
“To monitor your recovery.”
“Why?”
Reed hesitated.
“He said you stole something from him.”
“What?”
“I don't know.”
Reed closed his eyes.
“He never told me.”
Dominic looked at Vincent.
“Find Daniel Rowan.”
Vincent nodded.
Then Reed suddenly began coughing.
A dark mark appeared on the side of his neck.
Mercer examined him.
“Poison.”
Dominic froze.
Reed looked directly at him.
“Don't trust…”
His eyes rolled back.
“Who?”
Reed's lips moved.
“...the woman…”
Then he died.
Clare was the only woman in the room besides the nurses.
Dominic slowly turned toward the doorway.
Clare stood there.
May you like
Holding Ellie.
And crying.
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