Chapter 7 - THE EXPERIMENT WITH MY NAME ON IT
Project Second Dawn.
The name meant nothing to me.
But when Richard searched the Blackwood Foundation's archived filings, he found an old research proposal.
A spinal neuromodulation program.
Privately funded.
Highly confidential.
And listed among its proposed investors was Carter Holdings.
My company.
I stared at the document.
"I never approved this."
Richard nodded.
"We're checking the signatures."
I looked down the page.
Twenty million dollars.
That was the amount allocated to the program.
My money.
Used to finance a project I didn't know existed.
"Who signed?"
Richard hesitated.
"Your chief financial officer."
I felt my stomach tighten.
"Who?"
"Carmine."
The room went silent.
Carmine had been beside me for eighteen years.
He'd handled my accounts.
Managed my security.
Protected my family.
And now his name appeared on the authorization.
I looked toward the doorway.
"Get him."
Ten minutes later, Carmine entered my study.
He saw the document immediately.
His expression changed.
"Boss."
I held up the paper.
"Explain."
He swallowed.
"I authorized the investment."
"Without telling me?"
"Victor said it was a medical research partnership."
I stared.
"Why hide it?"
Carmine lowered his head.
"Because he promised it could help you."
My anger faltered.
"What?"
Carmine looked devastated.
"After the accident, Victor told me your doctors had given up too early."
I swallowed.
"He offered a treatment?"
"Yes."
"Experimental?"
Carmine nodded.
"He said there was a chance."
I stared at him.
"Did I consent?"
Carmine's face collapsed.
"No."
The word hung between us.
I felt sick.
"You let them perform a procedure while I was unconscious?"
"I thought I was saving you."
I closed my eyes.
For six months, Carmine had watched me struggle.
He had endured my rage.
My broken dishes.
My cruelty.
And all that time, he'd been carrying this secret.
"You had no right."
He nodded.
"I know."
"You should have told me."
"I know."
I looked toward Faith.
She stood quietly beside the bookshelf.
Her expression was sad.
Not angry.
Sad.
Because she understood what happened when people decided another person's body was theirs to experiment with.
I turned back toward Carmine.
"You're relieved of medical and financial authority immediately."
He lowered his head.
"Understood."
Then Richard continued reviewing the files.
Something caught his attention.
"Dominic, there's another name on the research proposal."
I looked up.
"What?"
He pointed to the project director.
DANIEL WILLIS.
Faith froze.
"My brother?"
Richard nodded.
I stared.
Daniel had helped create the original technology.
Victor had later used it without proper oversight.
And somehow, my injury had become part of the same project.
Then Faith whispered, "Daniel refused to continue."
I turned.
"What?"
She looked at the screen.
"My brother said the project had been taken away from him."
Richard opened another document.
A patent assignment.
It appeared to transfer Daniel's research rights to Blackwood Medical Investments.
Faith shook her head.
"He never agreed to that."
I looked toward Richard.
"Is the signature authentic?"
He hesitated.
"We need forensic verification."
Then he showed us the date.
The agreement had been signed three weeks after Daniel died.
Faith covered her mouth.
May you like
And I finally understood that Victor hadn't simply stolen research.
He had stolen it from a dead man.
Related Stories
