Chapter 3 - THE TRANSFER THAT NEVER SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED
By the time Roman and I reached St. Catherine's, my father's room was empty.
The blanket had been folded.
His medication tray was gone.
Even the photograph of my mother I'd placed beside his bed had disappeared.
I stood in the doorway.
Unable to move.
"Where is he?"
A nurse approached carefully.
"Miss Whitmore—"
"Where is my father?"
She glanced toward Roman.
Then back at me.
"He was transferred twenty minutes ago."
My knees nearly gave out.
Roman stepped beside me.
"Who authorized it?"
The nurse handed him a copy of the paperwork.
Roman read silently.
Then his expression hardened.
"This isn't a legitimate court order."
The nurse went pale.
"What?"
"The case number belongs to an unrelated proceeding."
I stared.
"You're saying Preston forged it?"
Roman nodded.
"That's what it appears to be."
I felt sick.
For three years, Preston had controlled every part of my life.
He'd taken my father's company.
Destroyed our finances.
Ruined my education.
And now he'd taken my father.
I turned toward Roman.
"Please."
My voice broke.
"Whatever you want from me, I'll do it. Just help me find him."
Something changed in Roman's eyes.
He stepped closer.
"Never offer yourself as payment for someone else's safety."
I looked at him through tears.
"Then what am I supposed to do?"
"Let us involve the authorities and follow the evidence."
His security chief, Dominic Russo, arrived moments later.
He had already contacted police.
A detective began reviewing the facility's security footage.
The cameras showed two men wheeling my father toward a black medical transport van.
Preston stood beside them.
But he wasn't alone.
A woman wearing a white physician's coat approached the vehicle.
I recognized her immediately.
"That's Dr. Evelyn Mercer."
Roman turned.
"Who?"
"My father's neurologist."
"How long has she treated him?"
"Since the stroke."
Roman studied the footage.
Then looked toward Dominic.
"Find out whether Mercer has any connection to Preston Hayes."
Dominic nodded.
Within an hour, the answer came.
Dr. Mercer had recently received several large payments from a consulting company.
The company was registered under a name I recognized.
Hayes Development Group.
Preston's business.
My throat tightened.
"The doctor was helping him?"
Roman's voice was grim.
"We need investigators to establish what those payments were for."
Then Dominic's phone rang.
He listened.
His expression changed.
"Boss, we found the medical van."
"Where?"
"Abandoned near the industrial district."
I grabbed Roman's sleeve.
"My father?"
Dominic shook his head.
"The van was empty."
I felt the room collapse around me.
Then Dominic added:
"Police found something under the passenger seat."
"What?"
"A flash drive."
Roman frowned.
"What's on it?"
Dominic swallowed.
"Video footage from the old Halcyon construction site."
He looked directly at me.
"And Sloan..."
May you like
My heart hammered.
"Your father is in the recording, standing beside a man everyone believes died twelve years ago."
