Chapter 3 - THE DOCTOR WHO BURIED TWO WOMEN
Arthur had spent five years believing his wife died because childbirth had simply gone wrong.
Now the same doctor who signed her death certificate appeared inside Elise Hayes’s hidden records.
He did not believe in coincidence.
Neither did Norah.
“Where is Dr. Vale?”
Arthur took out his phone.
“Retired.”
“Where?”
“Connecticut.”
“Call him.”
“He won’t answer me.”
“Why?”
Arthur looked at her.
“Because I threatened to kill him once.”
Maya blinked.
Norah sighed.
“Of course you did.”
Arthur almost objected.
Then decided it was fair.
An hour later, his security chief, Vincent Rourke, arrived.
Tall.
Gray-eyed.
Loyal for eighteen years.
Arthur trusted him more than almost anyone.
Vincent took the flash drive.
“Vale receives money through a holding company in Hartford. No activity for three months.”
“Find him.”
Vincent nodded.
Then he looked at Norah.
“Your shift starts in two hours.”
“She’s on medical leave,” Arthur said.
Norah turned.
“We have not agreed to that.”
“We have now.”
She gave him a look.
Vincent’s mouth twitched.
Apparently even Arthur Cole could be overruled by a nanny in a frayed cardigan.
Maya watched them.
For the first time that night, she smiled.
Then her monitor alarm changed.
Nurses rushed in.
Her blood pressure dropped.
Norah was pushed into the hallway.
She stood frozen.
Arthur put a hand beneath her elbow.
She jerked away.
“Don’t.”
He removed it immediately.
That mattered.
For twenty-three minutes, nobody told them anything.
Then the nephrologist came out.
“She stabilized.”
Norah closed her eyes.
“But we cannot continue like this.”
“When can we transplant?” Arthur asked.
The doctor looked at Norah.
“Medically, soon.”
“Maya refused.”
“We can revisit consent once she’s stable.”
Norah stared through the glass.
Maya looked so small.
“I’ll do it.”
Arthur turned.
“Norah.”
“She needs the kidney.”
“You need information first.”
“My sister needs to live first.”
He understood that.
Too well.
Five years earlier, his wife Catherine had been bleeding while doctors argued over procedure.
Arthur had shouted.
Threatened.
Demanded.
Nothing had saved her.
He looked at Norah.
“If you do this, you won’t lose your home.”
She swallowed.
“You won’t lose your job.”
Her eyes filled.
“And Maya’s medication will be covered.”
“I can’t owe you that.”
“Then owe me nothing.”
She looked up.
“That’s not how men like you operate.”
The sentence struck cleanly.
Arthur deserved it.
Before he could answer, Vincent returned.
His face had changed.
“We found Vale.”
“Where?”
“Dead.”
Arthur went still.
“When?”
“Three months ago.”
“How?”
“Single-car accident.”
Norah laughed bitterly.
“Your world really loves car accidents.”
Arthur did not disagree.
Vincent handed him a report.
Vale’s vehicle had gone off a bridge in heavy rain.
No witnesses.
No autopsy.
Cremated within forty-eight hours.
Arthur’s stomach turned.
“Who authorized the cremation?”
Vincent hesitated.
Arthur looked up.
“Say it.”
“Your uncle.”
Norah frowned.
Arthur’s uncle, Richard Cole, had run the organization after Arthur’s father became ill.
He had also handled every private detail surrounding Catherine’s death.
Arthur’s voice became quiet.
“Why would Richard care about Vale?”
Vincent didn’t answer.
He didn’t need to.
Arthur turned back toward Maya’s room.
For the first time, the truth became unbearable.
May you like
The same man who controlled the doctor tied to Elise Hayes’s cover-up had also controlled the doctor who declared Arthur’s wife dead.
And Richard Cole had been present at both funerals.
