Chapter 2 - The Doctor’s Verdict
St. Catherine’s private entrance was hidden behind an underground parking structure reserved for politicians, celebrities, and people whose names never appeared on official visitor lists.
Victor arrived twenty minutes after Ethan.
He found Lily standing outside the pediatric imaging room with an ice pack pressed against her stomach.
Her face was pale.
A nurse had given her a hospital gown, but she still wore her torn dress underneath it.
Two Blackwood guards stood at opposite ends of the corridor.
Neither looked directly at her.
Victor approached without announcing himself.
“Lillian Harper.”
Lily closed her eyes.
She had known this moment would come.
She simply had not expected it to arrive while Ethan was being examined for injuries caused by the woman Victor planned to marry.
She lowered the ice pack.
“Victor.”
“You lied about your name.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Before Lily could answer, the imaging-room door opened.
Dr. Marino stepped into the corridor.
Victor turned immediately.
“How bad?”
“His shoulder was dislocated.”
Victor’s face became unreadable.
“There is also a small fracture near the elbow.”
Lily covered her mouth.
Dr. Marino continued.
“We were able to reset the shoulder under sedation. His breathing has stabilized, and there is no sign of internal bleeding.”
“Will he recover?”
“He should.”
Victor’s shoulders lowered by less than an inch.
“But there is something else,” the doctor said.
Victor looked at him.
Dr. Marino held up a tablet displaying several scans.
“These images show two older fractures.”
Lily stared at him.
“What?”
“One rib fracture that appears to be six or seven weeks old.”
Victor stepped closer.
“And the other?”
“A hairline fracture in his left wrist. Probably three months old.”
Lily felt the hallway tilt beneath her.
“That’s impossible.”
Dr. Marino studied her.
“You were his primary caregiver?”
“Yes.”
“Did he have any falls?”
“No. Nothing serious.”
“Did he show signs of pain?”
“He cried more often during the nights Serena stayed in the nursery.”
Victor looked at Lily.
She froze.
“When did Serena stay in the nursery?” he asked.
“Only when you were out of town.”
“How often?”
“Four times.”
Victor’s voice dropped.
“And you never told me?”
“I did.”
He stared at her.
Lily shook her head.
“I wrote it in the daily reports.”
“I never received them.”
“I sent them to the household management office.”
Victor looked toward Marco.
Marco had entered the hallway behind him.
“Who reviews the reports?”
“Mrs. Bell handled them until she resigned,” Marco said.
“And after that?”
“Serena said she would supervise the domestic staff.”
Victor’s jaw tightened.
Dr. Marino returned his attention to the scans.
“There is another concern.”
“What?”
“I found traces of a sedative in Ethan’s blood.”
Lily stepped forward.
“I never gave him sedatives.”
“I know,” Dr. Marino said. “The dosage was small, but it appears to have been administered repeatedly.”
Victor looked through the glass window toward the treatment room.
Ethan slept beneath a white blanket.
His arm had been immobilized against his chest.
“What drug?” Victor asked.
“Clonazepam.”
Marco’s expression darkened.
“That medication is in Serena’s bathroom cabinet.”
Victor turned.
“You know that?”
“She requested a prescription three months ago. She said she had anxiety.”
Lily remembered Ethan’s unexplained sleepiness.
His poor appetite.
The afternoons when he could barely keep his eyes open.
She had brought her concerns to Serena.
Serena claimed the baby was going through a growth stage.
Lily had believed her.
Guilt crushed the air from her chest.
“I should have known.”
Victor faced her.
“You should have told me.”
“I tried.”
“Not through reports.”
“You were never here.”
The words left her before she could stop them.
Marco looked away.
Victor remained motionless.
Lily’s fear gave way to anger.
“You were in New York, Miami, Toronto or behind closed doors with men who were terrified to let anyone interrupt you.”
“My son had twenty-four-hour protection.”
“He had guards outside the house. He needed a father inside it.”
Victor’s eyes hardened.
One of the guards shifted uncomfortably.
Lily knew she had crossed a line.
She no longer cared.
“Serena controlled everything,” she continued. “The staff schedules, the food deliveries, the medical appointments and the reports you received.”
“Why did you stay?”
“Because Ethan needed someone.”
“And because you were investigating me?”
The question struck like a slap.
Dr. Marino glanced between them.
Marco stepped closer.
“Boss, perhaps this conversation should happen somewhere private.”
“No,” Victor said. “She can answer here.”
Lily looked through the window at Ethan.
“My brother was Detective Samuel Harper.”
“I know.”
“He was investigating the bombing that killed your wife.”
Victor’s expression changed.
“My wife died in a traffic accident.”
“No.”
Lily reached into the pocket of her torn dress.
The guards reacted instantly.
Marco’s hand moved beneath his jacket.
Lily slowly removed a small brass key.
“My brother believed Elena Blackwood was murdered.”
Victor stared at the key.
“Three days before Samuel died, he mailed this to me.”
“What does it open?”
“I don’t know.”
“You came into my house for six months and never found out?”
“I found out two weeks ago.”
Victor took a step closer.
Lily’s fingers closed around the key.
“It opens a safe-deposit box under Elena’s maiden name.”
The color drained from Victor’s face.
“What is inside?”
“I didn’t open it.”
“Why?”
“Because Samuel left instructions.”
“What instructions?”
Lily looked toward Marco.
Then back at Victor.
“He said the box could only be opened after Serena Montigue made her first move against your son.”
Marco swore under his breath.
Victor held out his hand.
“Give me the key.”
Lily did not move.
“You do not trust me,” Victor said.
“No.”
The honesty surprised everyone.
Victor lowered his hand.
Lily continued.
“My brother died because he trusted the wrong person.”
“Who?”
“He never gave me the name.”
Dr. Marino’s phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed almost immediately.
“What do you mean the file is gone?”
Victor turned toward him.
Dr. Marino listened for several seconds.
Then lowered the phone.
“Ethan’s blood sample disappeared from the laboratory.”
Marco reached for his weapon.
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At the same moment, every light in the corridor went out.
The hospital fell into darkness.
