Chapter 14 - The Price of a Family
Lucia had been transferred to a private cardiac unit under police protection.
The live video had been recorded hours earlier, before the rescue at the chapel. The person who sent it wanted us to believe she was still in danger.
But Santos discovered something more disturbing.
The phone was transmitting from inside the hospital.
Someone had access to the unit.
We arrived to find Lucia awake, surrounded by officers. Her surgery had been postponed again because the hospital's financial system showed that her payment had been withdrawn.
Adrian called his attorneys.
“Whatever it costs, the operation happens. Tonight, if the doctors say she can safely undergo it.”
I turned toward him.
“I can't accept money from you just because you feel guilty.”
“This isn't charity.”
“Then what is it?”
He looked through the glass at Emma, sleeping in a nurse's arms.
“Justice. Your sister was deliberately denied treatment. My family stole the money intended for her. Paying for the operation doesn't repair that, but it stops the harm.”
For once, I had no answer.
Santos found Dr. Whitmore trying to leave the hospital through a staff exit. Officers arrested him after discovering forged medical orders, concealed payments, and records linking him directly to Silas.
Under questioning, Whitmore revealed the location of the original Saint Fund server.
It was hidden in a secured room beneath the Valente family's former accounting office.
Adrian, Dante, Mateo, and Santos went there before dawn.
I remained with Lucia, holding her hand while the doctors prepared her for surgery.
A nurse entered to adjust the monitor.
I recognized her from the medical facility where Lucia had been held.
She saw me recognize her.
Then she reached into her pocket.
I shouted.
The officers outside rushed in as she pulled out a syringe. She dropped it immediately, but not before Santos's colleague caught sight of the label.
It contained the same sedative used on Emma.
The nurse was arrested.
We later learned Silas had recruited her to finish the job if his first plan failed. She had been waiting for a chance to approach Lucia alone.
At 5:40 a.m., my phone rang.
Adrian's voice was hoarse.
“We recovered the recording.”
“Is Silas there?”
“No.”
“Did he get away again?”
“He tried.”
I closed my eyes.
“Then what happened?”
A pause.
“Mateo found him first.”
My heart lurched.
“What does that mean?”
“It means your father had a chance to kill the man who ruined his life. Instead, he kept him alive long enough for the police to arrive.”
For the first time in twelve years, I felt something other than anger when I thought of my father.
Then Adrian added, “Isabella, the recording contains one final revelation.”
“What revelation?”
“Sofia knew Silas planned to murder her. She left a message for Emma.”
I looked through the window at the little girl who had brought our families together in the worst possible way.
“What did she say?”
May you like
Adrian's voice broke.
“She knew someone would try to make Emma pay for the sins of the Valentes. She wanted her daughter to grow up knowing the truth.”
