Chapter 7 - The Doctor Who Lied to Both Families
I remembered the day my father died more clearly than my own birthday.
The fluorescent hospital lights.
The cold coffee.
The physician who told me there was nothing more anyone could do.
Dr. Daniel Reeves.
I had forgotten his name until Vincent spoke it.
Now I couldn't stop hearing it.
"Reeves treated Dad?" I whispered.
Vincent nodded.
"He also treated several people connected to the old financial investigation."
Caleb looked toward Gabriel.
"Find the original medical records."
Gabriel stepped outside to make the necessary calls.
I remained beside the window, trying to control my breathing.
"My father had heart disease," I said.
"He'd been sick for months."
Vincent's expression softened.
"I'm not saying he wasn't ill, Grace."
"Then what are you saying?"
"That Reeves altered documents after your father died. The records your father collected disappeared from the hospital the same night."
I stared at him.
"Why?"
"Because those documents implicated Owen."
Caleb leaned forward.
"Vincent, what does this have to do with my shooting?"
His brother looked exhausted.
"Because Owen has been trying to take control of the Mercer organization since before our father died."
Caleb shook his head.
"Owen was my father's closest adviser."
"Exactly."
Vincent explained that their father had discovered Owen secretly diverting company assets.
Rather than expose the corruption, the elder Mercer had attempted to use Owen's crimes as leverage.
But Owen collected evidence against him too.
For years, the two men remained locked in a silent war.
After their father's death, Owen turned his attention toward Caleb.
I looked at the photographs on the study wall.
Caleb standing beside politicians.
Caleb shaking hands with businessmen.
Caleb accepting awards for charitable donations.
I wondered how many of those smiles concealed betrayal.
Then Vincent spoke again.
"Caleb, Reeves didn't disappear because he was afraid of you."
"Then why?"
"Because he discovered Owen was preparing to change your medical records."
Caleb's hands tightened.
"To make me appear incapable of running my businesses."
Vincent nodded.
"And possibly to interfere with your recovery."
I looked toward Caleb.
His legs lay motionless beneath a gray blanket.
For weeks, people had spoken about him as though his life were already over.
Yet here he was.
Thinking.
Questioning.
Refusing to surrender.
Then Gabriel returned.
His face was pale.
"We found something."
Caleb looked up.
"What?"
"Security footage from the hospital's restricted records room."
Gabriel placed the tablet on the desk.
The video showed Owen entering the records office shortly after Caleb's surgery.
He carried a black briefcase.
A woman followed him.
I recognized her.
Evelyn Hart.
But what happened next made me gasp.
Evelyn removed a document from her purse and handed it to Dr. Reeves.
The physician read it.
Then shook his head.
Evelyn reached for his arm.
Even without sound, the argument was obvious.
Finally, Reeves placed the document in his briefcase and walked away.
Gabriel enlarged the image.
The title was visible.
PATIENT TRANSFER AUTHORIZATION — CALEB MERCER.
I stared at Caleb.
"They were trying to move you?"
He nodded slowly.
"Somewhere I couldn't refuse."
Then Gabriel revealed the destination.
May you like
A private rehabilitation facility outside Milwaukee.
The same facility where Vincent, Rebecca, and the little boy were hiding.
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