Chapter 2 - THE WOMAN WHO SIGNED HIS DEATH WARRANT
Nora had spent three months believing her father's biggest enemy was cancer.
Now she was staring at evidence that someone might be preparing to kill him.
“What does termination mean?” she demanded.
Camilla's expression changed.
For the first time that evening, the senator's daughter looked genuinely afraid.
“It's a financial designation.”
“Then why is my father's patient number attached to it?”
Matteo pushed back his chair.
“This meeting is over.”
Victor rested one hand on the table.
“Sit down.”
Matteo hesitated.
Leo, standing beside the locked door, moved his jacket just enough to reveal the weapon secured beneath it.
Matteo sat.
Victor looked at Nora.
“Call your father.”
She grabbed her phone.
One ring.
Two.
Voicemail.
She tried again.
Nothing.
Her father always answered when he could.
Even during chemotherapy, he would send a quick message to tell her he was sleeping.
Nora's voice trembled.
“Something's wrong.”
Victor took out his phone.
“Leo, send two men to the Hastings residence. Quietly. Nobody enters until we know who's inside.”
Camilla stepped forward.
“This is ridiculous. You're terrifying the poor girl over a billing code.”
Victor turned.
“Then explain why you accessed her father's medical records.”
Camilla said nothing.
Nora enlarged another document.
It was a private email chain between Camilla, Matteo, and a medical administrator named Dr. Stephen Bell.
The messages discussed a patient enrolled in a specialized oncology program.
One email mentioned that the patient had previously worked as a financial auditor.
Another said he had retained copies of documents belonging to the Romano family.
Nora stared.
“My father was an accountant,” she whispered.
Victor's eyes sharpened.
“Where?”
“He worked for several companies before he got sick. He never talked about the older contracts.”
Victor reached for the tablet.
“What's his full name?”
“Thomas Edward Hastings.”
The room fell silent.
Victor's face changed so abruptly that Nora stepped back.
He knew the name.
“Your father worked for my father,” Victor said.
Nora stared at him.
“What?”
“Twenty-two years ago. Before the federal investigation.”
Camilla suddenly lunged for the tablet.
Victor caught her wrist before she could touch it.
“Don't.”
She struggled.
“You don't understand what you're doing!”
“Then enlighten me.”
Camilla looked toward the locked door.
Her fear had become desperation.
“If Thomas Hastings starts talking, your entire family goes down.”
Victor released her wrist.
Nora was barely breathing.
Then Victor's phone rang.
Leo answered first.
A man's panicked voice carried through the speaker.
“The Hastings house is empty, boss. Front door forced. There's blood in the kitchen.”
Nora gripped the table.
Victor spoke immediately.
“Find him.”
But the man wasn't finished.
“Boss, we found a note on the refrigerator.”
“What does it say?”
A pause.
May you like
Then the words came.
TELL VICTOR ROMANO HIS FATHER'S GRAVE IS EMPTY.
