Chapter 3 - THE DOCTORS WHO AGREED TOO QUICKLY
Adrian did not fire anyone.
He did not confront Dominic.
He did something far more dangerous.
He acted normal.
That evening, he sat at dinner.
Dominic talked about port contracts.
Mrs. Ricci served soup.
Lily tried to feed her rabbit carrots.
Adrian pretended not to notice when Dominic personally prepared tea afterward.
Same cup.
Same ritual.
“Chamomile,” Dominic said.
Adrian accepted it.
“Thank you.”
He carried it upstairs.
Then poured it into a sealed sample container.
Again.
Different night.
Same compound.
Higher concentration.
Now they had pattern.
Still not enough for three years.
But enough to justify deeper investigation.
An independent physician examined Adrian.
Blood.
Hair.
Nails.
Medical history.
The doctor, Dr. Naomi Feld, was careful.
“No one test will tell us exactly what happened every night for three years.”
“I understand.”
“But chronic exposure markers are present.”
“To the same drug?”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Likely months at minimum. Possibly longer.”
Adrian looked away.
Months alone were enough.
Then she reviewed his prescriptions.
One of Dominic’s approved neurologists, Dr. Paul Evers, had prescribed Adrian a medication that could worsen the effects of the compound found in the tea.
Coincidence?
Maybe.
But Dr. Evers also signed the first incapacity recommendation.
That made it harder to ignore.
Matteo investigated billing.
Dr. Evers received consulting fees from a foundation.
Foundation donor:
Dominic Moretti Holdings.
Not illegal.
Not automatically corrupt.
But undisclosed to Adrian.
The second physician had no direct payments.
Then Matteo found her husband’s company received a large Moretti subcontract six weeks before she signed the incapacity evaluation.
Again.
Not proof by itself.
Pattern.
Adrian’s anger became colder.
Then something unexpected happened.
Dominic walked into the library holding a file.
“You’ve been seeing another doctor.”
Adrian looked up slowly.
“How do you know?”
Dominic smiled.
“The estate pharmacy received a request for medication history.”
There it was.
He monitored pharmacy communications.
“Is that a problem?”
“No.”
“Then why mention it?”
“Because Dr. Feld is outside our network.”
“Our?”
Adrian emphasized the word.
Dominic corrected.
“The family network.”
“I didn’t realize my nervous system belonged to the family.”
Dominic’s jaw tightened.
“I’m trying to help.”
“You always are.”
Silence.
Then Dominic placed the file down.
Board meeting.
Forty-eight hours.
He wanted Adrian formally evaluated before signing a new shipping-credit facility.
“Why?”
“Lenders asked.”
“Did they?”
“Yes.”
Matteo later called the lenders.
They had not.
Dominic had.
Another lie.
Then Hannah approached Adrian privately.
She carried Lily’s gray rabbit.
Inside a tear in the back seam was a folded piece of paper.
“What is that?”
“Ethan mailed it to Lily six months ago.”
Adrian frowned.
“Why hide it in the rabbit?”
“He knew I was afraid somebody monitored our mail.”
The paper contained six names.
Employees.
Doctors.
Accountants.
One name Adrian recognized immediately.
Mrs. Ricci.
His longtime housekeeper.
The woman who had served his family for twenty-seven years.
The woman who told Lily Adrian didn’t sleep.
Why was she on Ethan’s list?
Hannah looked devastated.
“I don’t know.”
Adrian called Mrs. Ricci into the study.
She walked in wearing her usual black dress.
Gray hair pinned perfectly.
“You wanted me?”
Adrian placed the paper down.
Her face changed.
She knew the list.
“Where did Ethan get these names?”
She looked at Hannah.
Then at Adrian.
“From me.”
Silence.
Mrs. Ricci had been feeding Ethan information.
Not Dominic.
Ethan discovered suspicious shipping records.
Mrs. Ricci had discovered suspicious household patterns.
Tea.
Medications.
Late-night meetings.
Dominic’s private visits to Adrian’s bedroom.
She documented dates.
Why not tell Adrian?
“Because you were becoming someone I didn’t recognize.”
That hurt.
“You thought I was dangerous.”
“I thought you were ill.”
“And Dominic?”
“I thought he was caring for you.”
“At first.”
Then she saw Dominic put drops into the tea.
Once.
Two years earlier.
She confronted him.
He told her Adrian’s doctor prescribed them.
Showed her a bottle with a pharmacy label.
She believed him.
Then weeks later she checked with the estate pharmacy.
No record.
That was when she contacted Ethan.
“How long have you known?”
“Not known.”
She corrected herself.
“Suspected.”
Important.
“What else?”
Mrs. Ricci looked toward the door.
Then whispered:
“Your brother has been entering your father’s sealed office.”
Adrian’s chest tightened.
His father’s study had been locked since Antonio Moretti died five years earlier.
Only Adrian had the key.
Or thought he did.
“What is he looking for?”
Mrs. Ricci answered:
“Your father’s original succession papers.”
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Then:
“And whatever is hidden behind the portrait of your mother.”
