Chapter 3 - THE WOMAN IN THE RECORDS ROOM
The clinic occupied the third floor of a glass medical building near the river. Its public name was Northstar Wellness, but its records were controlled by a company with no visible address.
Dominic arranged a meeting with the former administrator, a woman named Dr. Evelyn Park. She agreed to speak only after Chloe told her Margaret's name.
“I remember her,” Dr. Park said when they met in a quiet hotel lounge. “She came in with questions about a medication trial.”
Chloe leaned forward. “Was my mother part of a trial?”
“No. She was an employee's relative who had been referred for treatment. She was never supposed to receive the compound she was given.”
Dominic's expression hardened. “What compound?”
Dr. Park glanced toward the windows. “A muscle-relaxing agent developed for a short-term study. It could cause severe weakness when combined with certain prescriptions. The clinic stopped using it after two adverse events.”
“Two?” Chloe repeated.
“One patient recovered. The other was your mother.”
The room seemed to tilt.
“Why wasn't I told?”
“Because the records were changed. Her file described the symptoms as progression of an unrelated condition. I objected. I was dismissed.”
Dominic's voice was low. “Who ordered the changes?”
“Victor Sloane's office contacted the clinic. They said the company was covering the cost and that the family had been informed.”
Chloe gripped the edge of the table. “My mother never knew.”
“I am sorry.”
“Sorry doesn't bring her back.”
Dr. Park lowered her eyes.
She handed Dominic a small flash drive. “I copied the original medication logs before I left. They include delivery dates and authorization codes.”
Dominic took it carefully.
“Why didn't you go to the police?”
“I did. A detective visited me, then the clinic's lawyers threatened a lawsuit. My husband was undergoing cancer treatment. I couldn't risk losing everything.”
Chloe understood fear. She hated that she understood it.
As they left the lounge, Dominic's phone rang. Matteo spoke quickly on the other end.
“Boss, we have a problem. Someone entered Chloe's apartment.”
Chloe stopped walking. “My mother's things—”
“Nothing appears stolen,” Matteo said. “But the bedroom was searched.”
Dominic's face changed. “Get her out of the building. Now.”
They drove to a safe apartment owned by one of Dominic's legitimate property companies. Chloe hated the security cameras and the locked elevator, but the place was clean and warm. A bag of groceries waited on the counter.
“I didn't ask you to buy me food,” she said.
“Matteo did.”
“Tell Matteo I can buy my own groceries.”
“I will.”
Dominic gave her a key. “You can leave whenever you want. No one will stop you.”
She looked at him. “Why are you helping me?”
“Because someone used my company to hurt your mother. And because you saved my life.”
“Those are two different reasons.”
“They are.”
That evening, Chloe examined the flash drive with Dominic's security analyst. The logs showed that Margaret had received a prescription from Northstar on three separate dates. Each delivery was authorized by a code belonging to Victor Sloane.
There was also a scanned note from Margaret, dated two days before her collapse.
The note read:
I have proof that the trial medication is being diverted. If anything happens to me, check the shipment records for Dock 19.
Chloe read it again.
“Dock 19,” she whispered.
Dominic stood behind her. “That's one of our old warehouses.”
“Was my mother planning to expose you?”
“Maybe she was trying to expose the people using my company.”
He picked up his phone.
“Matteo. I want the Dock 19 records. And find out who knew Margaret had copied the shipment logs.”
A moment later, the apartment lights flickered.
The security analyst looked up.
“That's not a power issue.”
The screen went black.
From the hallway came the sound of a door handle turning.
Dominic stepped in front of Chloe.
May you like
“Stay behind me.”
Someone had found them.
