Chapter 7 - THE DOCTOR WHO CONTROLLED HER MEMORIES
By the time Damon returned to the mansion, every entrance was guarded.
But his mother was gone.
And so was the doctor who had controlled her medical care for three years.
Delaney followed Damon into the security office.
Several monitors displayed footage from the previous hour.
At 10:42 a.m., Dr. Mercer had entered through the east entrance.
At 10:51, he escorted Evelyn through a side door.
She appeared unsteady.
One hand gripped his arm.
At 10:53, a silver sedan left the property.
Nobody stopped it.
Because Dr. Mercer had standing authorization to transport Evelyn for medical appointments.
Damon stared at the screen.
"Who approved that authorization?"
A nervous security supervisor looked down.
"Miss Hale, sir."
Victoria.
Damon turned slowly.
"Where is she?"
"Her phone is off."
Frank entered carrying a folder.
"We found Mercer's financial records."
"Tell me."
"He's received payments from a medical consulting company for the last thirty months."
Damon frowned.
"Whose company?"
Frank hesitated.
"Victoria Hale's father."
The room fell silent.
Delaney suddenly remembered Evelyn's terrified whisper.
She's the reason I ran away.
"It wasn't confusion," Delaney said.
Damon looked at her.
"What?"
"Your mother recognized Victoria. She was afraid of her before anyone mentioned the doctor."
Damon lowered himself into a chair.
For the first time, he looked exhausted.
"I thought my mother was getting worse."
Delaney sat opposite him.
"Maybe she wasn't."
He looked at her.
"Explain."
"During my mother's treatment, there were days when her medications made her disoriented. But she wasn't always confused. Sometimes she remembered things clearly."
Delaney glanced toward the security footage.
"What if Evelyn's symptoms aren't entirely natural?"
Damon's jaw tightened.
Frank nodded grimly.
"We need an independent medical evaluation."
Damon stood.
"First we find her."
His phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
"Speak."
A distorted voice filled the room.
"Mr. Bianchi, your mother is alive."
Damon's eyes darkened.
"Where is she?"
"That depends on how cooperative you are."
"What do you want?"
"The contents of Vault Seventeen."
Delaney went cold.
The caller continued.
"And the waitress."
Damon's gaze moved toward her.
"She's not involved."
"She became involved when she opened her mother's letter."
Damon stepped away from the others.
"If you touch my mother—"
"Threats won't help you."
A pause.
Then something unexpected happened.
Evelyn's voice came through the phone.
"Damon?"
"Mother!"
"I'm sorry, darling."
Her voice sounded weak.
Then she whispered quickly.
"Don't bring the girl."
A man's voice interrupted.
"Enough."
The call ended.
Seconds later, Damon received a photograph.
Evelyn sat tied to a chair in an unfamiliar room.
Behind her stood Dr. Mercer.
And beside him was someone Damon recognized instantly.
Victoria's father.
Charles Hale.
The man who was supposed to become Damon's father-in-law.
But the most shocking detail wasn't the photograph.
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It was the message beneath it.
YOUR FATHER DISCOVERED WHAT CHARLES DID TO MARGARET. THAT IS WHY HE HAD TO DIE.
