Chapter 8 - THE MESSAGE HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT
"Why me?"
Audrey stared at her sister through the video screen.
Amanda looked frightened.
"BECAUSE YOU NOTICE THINGS OTHER PEOPLE IGNORE."
Audrey shook her head.
"That doesn't explain anything."
Amanda took a breath.
Then she revealed a secret she had kept for nearly two years.
Olivia Gallow had been investigating a network of fraudulent medical facilities connected to Adrian Cross.
Several patients had been moved between buildings without proper documentation.
Some were people with disabilities.
Others were elderly.
Their families had been told they were receiving specialized treatment.
In reality, the foundation was being used to bill enormous amounts for services that never occurred.
Olivia had discovered the fraud.
And she had feared that her own husband might unknowingly be financing it.
Maxwell's expression darkened.
"I signed checks for that foundation every month."
Amanda nodded.
"OLIVIA DIDN'T THINK YOU KNEW."
Audrey translated.
Then Amanda revealed something else.
"OLIVIA WANTED TO CONTACT AUDREY BECAUSE AUDREY WORKED AT A COMMUNITY CLINIC BEFORE BELLINI'S."
Audrey remembered.
Two years earlier, she had volunteered at a nonprofit health center.
She had helped patients complete complicated paperwork.
One afternoon, she had questioned a billing discrepancy involving a patient who had never received treatment.
The clinic administrator dismissed her concerns.
Audrey had filed a written complaint anyway.
She never learned what happened afterward.
Amanda signed:
"OLIVIA FOUND YOUR COMPLAINT."
Audrey stared.
"And she connected it to the fraud?"
Amanda nodded.
"YES."
Maxwell walked toward the window.
For years, he had believed his wife's disappearance was the result of an accident.
Now he was beginning to understand the scale of the deception.
Olivia had uncovered a financial network.
She had identified fraudulent medical facilities.
And she had prepared evidence.
But the greatest secret remained hidden.
The key.
The mysterious inscription.
The number 417.
Raymond's phone rang.
He listened carefully.
Then turned toward Maxwell.
"Police obtained a warrant for the old rehabilitation center."
"What did they find?"
"An empty building."
Maxwell's face fell.
"But they discovered a locked basement."
"And?"
Raymond swallowed.
"Inside was a hospital bed. Recent medical supplies. A woman's clothing."
Audrey gripped the edge of the table.
"Was Olivia there?"
"No."
Raymond hesitated.
"There's more."
He held up a photograph recovered from a surveillance camera.
It showed Olivia Gallow being escorted into a black vehicle.
The timestamp was less than four hours old.
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And beside her stood a woman Audrey recognized instantly.
Marianne Hale.
