Chapter 7 - THE TRUTH HIS FAMILY BURIED|
I had seen Lucian angry.
I'd watched his expression harden when Marco told him someone had entered my apartment.
I'd heard the authority in his voice when he spoke to the people who worked for him.
But I'd never seen him frightened.
Not until he read the message about his family.
His face lost all color.
For several seconds, he stood perfectly still.
“Lucian?”
He didn't answer.
I reached for the phone.
“Tell me what that means.”
He looked at me.
“I need to call someone.”
“Who?”
“My father.”
I frowned.
“You said your father was dead.”
“He is.”
The answer made my stomach tighten.
“Then who are you calling?”
“The man who handled his affairs.”
Lucian turned away.
I watched him dial.
Someone answered after several rings.
“Dominic,” Lucian said.
His voice was dangerously quiet.
“I need you to tell me what happened after Sofia died.”
I couldn't hear the response.
Then Lucian said something that made my heart stumble.
“No more lies.”
He ended the call.
I waited.
When he finally faced me, his eyes looked older.
“My father may have known more about Sofia's treatment than he told us.”
I sat down slowly.
“What did he know?”
“That's what I'm going to find out.”
I looked at the strange medical document still glowing on my phone.
“Lucian, somebody is threatening me.”
“I know.”
“Somebody broke into my apartment.”
“I know.”
“And now I'm finding out that the treatment I've been receiving might be connected to your sister's death.”
His jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
I stood.
“Then I need answers now.”
He looked toward the door.
“So do I.”
For the next hour, the apartment became a place of phone calls and quiet conversations.
A legal representative arrived to help preserve the threatening messages and medical document.
Marco arranged for building security footage to be copied for investigators.
Lucian asked whether I wanted police involvement.
I said yes.
He accepted the decision without argument.
That surprised me.
I'd imagined a mafia boss would solve every problem with threats.
Instead, he spent twenty minutes listening to an attorney explain chain-of-custody requirements.
When the room finally emptied, I sank onto the couch.
Lucian stood beside the window.
“I'm sorry,” he said.
I looked up.
“For what?”
“For bringing this into your life.”
“You didn't send the first message.”
“No.”
“And you didn't give me the diagnosis.”
“No.”
“Then stop apologizing for things you haven't done.”
He looked at me.
I tried to smile.
“Apparently, I'm allowed to be bossy too.”
His mouth moved slightly.
Then the smile disappeared.
“There is something I should tell you.”
I waited.
“My father's name was Vittorio Moretti.”
“I've heard of him.”
“Most people have.”
Lucian looked toward the city.
“He built the organization I inherited.”
“He also spent much of his life protecting the family from consequences that should have been faced.”
I studied him.
“Including your sister's death?”
“Possibly.”
He sat opposite me.
“After Sofia died, my father told me the hospital had reached a settlement with our family.”
“What kind of settlement?”
“I was twenty-nine and barely functioning.”
“He said there had been mistakes in her treatment, but that nothing would bring her back.”
“So you accepted the money?”
Lucian shook his head.
“I refused it.”
I stared at him.
“Then what happened?”
“My father created a foundation in Sofia's name.”
“He said the settlement funded it.”
I considered that.
“A medical charity?”
“Yes.”
“Was it real?”
“It funded legitimate programs.”
“But?”
Lucian's jaw tightened.
“I never reviewed where the initial money came from.”
Something cold moved through me.
“What if the hospital wasn't paying your family?”
He met my eyes.
“What if your family was paying the hospital?”
The silence that followed seemed to fill every corner of the room.
I looked again at the words on my phone.
TRIAL 47.
SUBJECT 12.
A secret program.
A dead woman.
A dying woman.
Two names connected by the same physician.
“Why would anyone do that?” I whispered.
“I don't know.”
“Your father had money.”
“Yes.”
“He had influence.”
“Yes.”
“Then maybe he thought he could buy silence.”
Lucian looked down.
“I wouldn't be surprised.”
His honesty startled me.
Most powerful men I'd encountered defended their families even when the evidence demanded questions.
Lucian seemed willing to examine the possibility that the people he loved had done something terrible.
It didn't make him innocent.
But it made him different from what I'd expected.
At eight that evening, Dominic Russo arrived.
He was in his late sixties, with silver hair and a carefully pressed navy suit.
He carried an old leather briefcase.
Lucian met him at the door.
“Tell me everything.”
Dominic looked toward me.
“Perhaps we should speak privately.”
I stood.
“No.”
Both men turned.
“My name is in those records.”
I folded my arms.
“My life is being threatened.”
“You can either speak in front of me or leave.”
Dominic studied me.
Then he placed the briefcase on the table.
“You remind me of Sofia.”
Lucian's expression hardened.
“Don't.”
Dominic opened the case.
Inside were several sealed envelopes, old bank records, and a folder marked CONFIDENTIAL.
He removed a document.
“Your father believed Dr. Voss had discovered a treatment capable of slowing certain rare inflammatory diseases.”
Lucian stared at him.
“Go on.”
“The early results were promising.”
“Then patients began experiencing severe complications.”
I felt my pulse quicken.
“What kind?”
Dominic looked at me.
“Organ damage, vascular inflammation, and unpredictable immune reactions.”
The room grew colder.
Those were the complications I'd been told were caused by the natural progression of my illness.
Lucian leaned forward.
“Was Sofia enrolled?”
Dominic nodded.
“Without proper disclosure.”
Lucian's face changed.
“And my father knew?”
“Not initially.”
“When did he find out?”
“After her death.”
Lucian stood so suddenly that his chair scraped against the floor.
“Then why didn't he report it?”
Dominic lowered his eyes.
“Because the hospital threatened to reveal financial dealings between its parent company and businesses connected to the Moretti organization.”
I watched Lucian's hands close into fists.
“So he chose his empire.”
Dominic said nothing.
“He chose his reputation over Sofia.”
“Your father believed exposing the matter would put other family members at risk.”
Lucian laughed bitterly.
“Sofia was already dead.”
Silence followed.
Then I asked the question nobody else seemed willing to say aloud.
“What about me?”
Dominic looked at me.
“I only learned your name recently.”
“How recently?”
“Three weeks ago.”
My blood went cold.
“What happened three weeks ago?”
Dominic removed another page from the folder.
It contained a list of patients.
Most names had been blacked out.
Mine remained visible.
Beside it was a notation.
ADVERSE RESPONSE — ACTIVE.
REQUIRES FOLLOW-UP.
I stared at the words.
“Does that mean my illness was caused by the treatment?”
Dominic shook his head.
“The documents alone can't establish that.”
“What does it mean, then?”
“It means someone knew you might be experiencing serious treatment-related complications.”
I gripped the table.
“Then why wasn't I told?”
Nobody answered.
I looked at Lucian.
His eyes were fixed on the documents.
For the first time, he seemed unable to find words.
My phone rang.
The screen displayed an unknown number.
We all stared at it.
Lucian reached toward me.
“Don't answer unless you want to.”
I looked at the phone.
Then I pressed the green button and activated the speaker.
“Hello?”
A man spoke.
His voice was calm and unmistakably familiar.
“Amelia, this is Dr. Voss.”
My stomach dropped.
“Doctor?”
“I understand you've been asking questions.”
I looked at Lucian.
He nodded for me to continue.
“Yes.”
A long pause followed.
Then Dr. Voss said something that changed everything.
“Amelia, the seven-day prognosis wasn't the whole story.”
I pressed a hand against my chest.
“What do you mean?”
His breathing became uneven.
“There is a treatment option I didn't disclose.”
“Why?”
May you like
Another silence.
Then he whispered, “Because someone told me you'd be dead before you could use it.”
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