Chapter 6 - THE LIE HIDDEN INSIDE THE MEDICAL RECORDS
Evan really had a heart condition.
That was the first thing the independent cardiologist confirmed.
The second was that his original diagnosis had been accurate.
The third made me want to scream.
Several recent tests had been exaggerated.
Certain procedures Dr. Voss had insisted were urgent might not have been necessary.
And some of the charges used to justify my debt appeared suspicious.
I sat beside Evan in the consultation room, gripping his hand.
"Is he going to be okay?"
Dr. Emily Hart, the independent specialist, spoke gently.
"His condition requires continued care, but we're reviewing the treatment plan carefully. We don't see evidence that every intervention previously recommended was justified."
I closed my eyes.
For years, I'd lived in fear that one missed payment would kill my brother.
Dr. Hart continued.
"We'll make a safe medication plan. Please don't stop or change anything on your own."
I nodded.
Evan looked at me.
"Clara?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you crying?"
I laughed through tears.
"A little."
He squeezed my hand.
"Does this mean you can stop working fourteen-hour shifts?"
That broke me.
Because even at seventeen, Evan worried more about me than himself.
"I hope so, buddy."
He smiled.
"Good. Your pancakes are terrible when you're tired."
I laughed harder.
For the first time in months, the future didn't feel like a countdown.
But the relief didn't last.
That afternoon, Leo arrived at Rebecca's office carrying a folder.
His face was grim.
"Voss has disappeared."
My stomach tightened.
"What?"
"He didn't report to work this morning. His home is empty."
Rebecca looked up.
"Have the authorities been notified?"
"Yes."
Leo placed the folder on the table.
"There's more."
Inside were old hospital records from Isabella Caruso's final surgery.
Several pages bore Voss's signature.
Others had been altered.
And one financial transfer connected the hospital to a company controlled by Rourke.
I stared.
"Why would Rourke pay Voss?"
Leo looked toward the window.
"Because my father was preparing to expose something."
"What?"
"An illegal medical billing network involving several private clinics."
Rebecca leaned forward.
"Do you have evidence?"
Leo nodded.
"My father kept copies before he died."
I looked at him.
"Your father is dead?"
"Five years."
"How?"
"Officially, a heart attack."
Something in his voice told me he didn't believe it.
I thought about Isabella.
Evan.
The manipulated medical bills.
The blood donor records.
And suddenly everything seemed connected to one enormous secret.
"Leo," I whispered, "what if Rourke didn't just want you dead?"
He turned.
"What do you mean?"
"What if he wanted you to survive?"
Leo stared.
I continued.
"What if the ambush wasn't only about killing you? What if someone wanted to bring us together?"
Silence filled the room.
Then Rebecca slowly opened another document.
A DNA-testing consent form had been submitted using my personal details shortly after the blood donation.
I stared.
"I never agreed to that."
Rebecca's expression darkened.
"Then someone may have forged your signature."
Leo leaned closer.
"What were they testing?"
Rebecca swallowed.
"Familial relationship markers."
My heart stopped.
May you like
Because someone wasn't merely interested in my blood type.
They wanted to know whether Leo Caruso and I were related.
