Chapter 3 - The Patient Who Owned Half the City|
Clara stood frozen outside Trauma Bay One.
Adrian had been rushed into surgery.
Rocco was making calls.
Marcus had disappeared into his office.
And Clara was beginning to realize the wounded stranger she'd found in the alley wasn't an ordinary man.
A surgical resident approached her.
"Are you Clara Bennett?"
"Yes."
"I'm Dr. Samuel Price. The patient asked for you before he went upstairs."
Clara frowned.
"How is he?"
"He's in surgery. We won't know his condition until the team finishes."
She nodded.
Then the doctor looked at her stained scrubs.
"Are you an employee here?"
"I was."
"What happened?"
Clara gave a tired laugh.
"Long story."
The doctor glanced toward Marcus's office.
"Apparently, the patient knows that story."
Clara looked up sharply.
"What?"
Dr. Price hesitated.
"Mr. DeLuca is a significant figure in this city. Hospital leadership has been contacted."
Clara folded her arms.
"That doesn't explain why he knows my name."
"No, it doesn't."
Then Rocco approached.
"Miss Bennett."
Clara turned.
"Yes?"
"Mr. DeLuca wanted you to have this."
He handed her a small black wallet.
Inside was an identification card.
Adrian DeLuca.
Clara recognized the name immediately.
Everyone in the city did.
DeLuca Properties.
DeLuca International.
DeLuca Holdings.
Hotels, shipping companies, restaurants, commercial buildings.
And rumors.
Lots of rumors.
The newspapers called Adrian DeLuca a businessman.
The people who worked near the waterfront called him something else.
The King of the Harbor.
Clara slowly looked at Rocco.
"He's Adrian DeLuca?"
Rocco nodded.
"Yes."
She stared toward the operating rooms.
"Of course he is."
Rocco frowned.
"What?"
She rubbed her forehead.
"Because apparently getting fired wasn't dramatic enough for one evening."
Rocco almost smiled.
Then his expression became serious.
"Mr. DeLuca was coming to the hospital tonight."
"Why?"
"To meet with someone."
"Marcus?"
Rocco hesitated.
Clara's stomach tightened.
"Rocco."
He looked away.
"Mr. DeLuca had questions about medication inventory."
Clara felt cold.
"What kind of questions?"
"Missing controlled substances. Unusual purchasing records. Payments connected to hospital executives."
She stared.
Three weeks earlier, Clara had reported discrepancies involving several medication records.
Marcus dismissed her concerns.
Now she was being accused of the very thing she'd reported.
"Who told Adrian?"
Rocco looked at her.
"An anonymous source."
Clara folded her arms.
"And he came to investigate personally?"
"He had reason to believe someone was using one of his companies without permission."
Clara stared.
"So someone at the hospital was stealing medication?"
"We don't know the full picture yet."
She shook her head.
"Marcus accused me of three missing vials."
Rocco's expression changed.
"Your credentials?"
"Yes."
He took out his phone.
"Interesting."
Clara frowned.
"Why?"
"Because Mr. DeLuca received a report yesterday naming you as the employee responsible for inventory discrepancies."
Her stomach dropped.
"What?"
Rocco continued.
"He didn't believe it."
"Why?"
"Because someone else sent him your original incident report."
Clara stared.
She had filed that report through the hospital's internal system.
Only a handful of people should have been able to access it.
"Who sent it?"
"We don't know."
Clara looked toward Marcus's office.
Then something clicked.
She remembered Brittany standing behind Marcus during the termination meeting.
The satisfied smile.
The way she'd avoided looking at Clara when the missing medication was mentioned.
"Brittany," Clara whispered.
Rocco frowned.
"Who?"
"Marcus's new favorite nurse."
She immediately regretted how bitter she sounded.
But the truth was worse.
Brittany hadn't merely replaced Clara in Marcus's personal life.
She was now being promoted into the leadership position Clara had helped build.
And Clara's license could be damaged by allegations she believed were fabricated.
Her hands began trembling.
Rocco noticed.
"Miss Bennett?"
"I'm fine."
"You don't look fine."
She laughed once.
"That's becoming a familiar assessment."
He studied her.
Then said quietly, "Mr. DeLuca has investigators reviewing the financial records. But if you've been falsely accused, you need your own attorney."
Clara looked at him.
For the first time that night, the gunman sounded like a reasonable human being.
"You're right."
She pulled out her phone and called her sister.
"Emily?"
Her younger sister answered immediately.
"Clara? It's almost midnight. Are you okay?"
Clara closed her eyes.
For a moment, she wanted to say yes.
She wanted to pretend her world hadn't collapsed.
Instead, her voice broke.
"No."
Emily's tone changed.
"What happened?"
Clara sat on a bench.
"I got fired."
Silence.
Then Emily whispered:
"What?"
"Marcus accused me of stealing medication."
"That's insane!"
"I know."
"Where are you?"
"At the hospital."
"Why?"
Clara looked toward the operating rooms.
Then sighed.
"Because I found a wounded man in an alley."
Another silence.
"Clara."
"Yes?"
"Please tell me you didn't bring home another stray animal."
Clara laughed through tears.
"No."
"Then what?"
Clara looked at Rocco.
"A mafia boss."
Emily screamed.
"YOU FOUND WHAT?"
Before Clara could explain, the operating-room doors opened.
A surgeon approached.
Rocco immediately stood.
"Doctor?"
The surgeon removed his cap.
"Mr. DeLuca survived the procedure."
Clara exhaled sharply.
"Thank God."
"But he'll need close monitoring. The next twenty-four hours are important."
Rocco nodded.
Then the surgeon looked at Clara.
"Miss Bennett?"
"Yes?"
"He regained consciousness briefly before anesthesia."
Clara frowned.
"And?"
The surgeon hesitated.
"He asked us to pass along a message."
"What message?"
The doctor looked toward Marcus's office.
Then back at her.
"He said to tell you that your former supervisor is going to regret what he did."
Clara stared.
Rocco's mouth twitched.
But the surgeon wasn't finished.
"He also said something else."
Clara felt uneasy.
"What?"
The surgeon took a breath.
"He said, 'Tell Clara to stop worrying about her job.'"
May you like
A pause.
"Because by tomorrow morning, she won't need Marcus Vale's permission to work in this hospital."
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