Chapter 8 - THE MAN WHO SOLD THE DIAGNOSIS
Dr. Samuel Rusk agreed to meet Luca in a private conference room at the Varenna headquarters.
He arrived with a lawyer and a face that seemed permanently exhausted.
Luca stood at the window.
“You falsified my medical records.”
Rusk sat down.
“I altered a report.”
“You changed a stranger's result and entered it under my name.”
“I was following instructions.”
“From Vittorio?”
Rusk said nothing.
Luca placed the laboratory log on the table.
“Patricia Sloan kept a copy.”
The doctor's eyes moved over the page.
“I thought that record had been destroyed.”
“Who paid you?”
Rusk rubbed his forehead.
“Vittorio said it was a family decision. He told me your father wanted the succession protected.”
“My father wrote a letter warning me about you.”
Rusk looked up.
“Then you know I wasn't the only one involved.”
“Explain.”
Rusk opened his briefcase and removed a small envelope.
“After your accident, your first examination showed no permanent reproductive damage. Your recovery was complicated, but there was no basis for a permanent infertility diagnosis.”
“Why did you change it?”
“Vittorio offered money. He said the family needed stability. He believed that if you had an heir, your grandfather's trust would pass control to you.”
“It already did.”
“Not according to the amended document.”
Luca's jaw tightened.
“Who drafted the amendment?”
“Your uncle's attorney.”
“Did my father sign it?”
Rusk looked away.
“No.”
The answer seemed to strike the room.
“Then why did you participate?”
“Because I was told the document had been approved. I was paid to create medical support for the claim that you would never have a direct heir.”
Luca stepped closer.
“You let me believe I was broken.”
Rusk's voice dropped.
“I was wrong.”
“You let me build my entire life around a lie.”
“I know.”
“No. You know what you did. You don't know what it cost.”
Rusk slid the envelope toward him.
“Inside are copies of the instructions I received. There are also payment records. I kept them because I was afraid Vittorio would eventually blame everything on me.”
Luca opened the envelope.
The first page contained an email from Vittorio.
Ensure the final report confirms permanent infertility. The family cannot risk an heir changing the succession structure. Luca must believe the conclusion is irreversible.
I felt Luca go still.
There it was.
The truth in black and white.
Then he turned to the next page.
It was an instruction dated six weeks after the diagnosis.
If Luca begins a relationship that could result in a pregnancy, notify me immediately.
My stomach dropped.
“Did he know about us?” I asked.
Rusk looked at me.
“I don't know. But he had people watching Luca's personal life.”
Luca closed the folder.
“Marco will escort you to the authorities. You will give a full statement.”
Rusk nodded.
Then he said one more thing.
“Mr. Varenna, there is something I haven't told you.”
May you like
Luca stopped.
“Your father didn't die believing the accident was an accident.”
