Chapter 7 - The Confession Nobody Wanted to Hear|
Dr. Adrian Keller lay in a hospital bed overlooking a small courtyard.
His hair was almost white.
His face was thin.
A blanket covered his legs.
When Dominic entered with Detective Ramirez and his attorney, the doctor turned toward the doorway.
For a moment, he looked frightened.
Then he whispered, “Antonio's boy.”
Dominic stopped.
“I'm not a boy anymore.”
Keller closed his eyes.
“No.”
His voice trembled.
“You're not.”
Dominic stood beside the bed.
“I want to know what happened to Emily.”
The doctor looked toward the detective.
“Are you recording this?”
Ramirez nodded.
“With your consent, yes.”
Keller swallowed.
“Good.”
Dominic remained silent.
The doctor stared at the ceiling.
Then began.
“Vincent called me that night.”
Dominic's jaw tightened.
“He said Emily had been injured near the greenhouse.”
“What kind of injury?”
“A blow to the head. She was confused, cold, and barely responsive.”
Dominic closed his eyes.
Keller continued.
“When I arrived, she was lying on a table inside the greenhouse.”
“Was she alive?”
“Yes.”
Dominic drew a sharp breath.
The doctor looked at him.
“She was alive, Dominic.”
For several seconds, the room was silent.
Then Dominic asked, “Could she have survived?”
Keller's eyes filled.
“I can't say for certain.”
Dominic stared.
“But she should have been taken to an emergency department immediately.”
“Why wasn't she?”
Keller turned toward the window.
“Martin Vale refused.”
Dominic's expression hardened.
“He said she had seen financial documents and heard an argument. He was afraid she'd tell Antonio.”
“Where was my father?”
“He'd been called away to the security office. Vincent told him Emily had been found near the lake.”
Dominic went still.
“So Dad didn't know she was inside?”
Keller shook his head.
“Not then.”
He swallowed.
“Martin insisted we move her before Antonio returned.”
Dominic's voice became dangerously quiet.
“Move her where?”
Keller began crying.
“To the boathouse.”
The silence was unbearable.
Dominic's hands curled into fists.
“Was she still breathing?”
“Yes.”
“What happened next?”
The doctor covered his face.
“I told Martin she needed an ambulance. He said if I called one, he'd expose the false medical invoices I'd signed for his company.”
Dominic stared.
“You were involved.”
Keller lowered his eyes.
“Yes.”
His voice broke.
“I had helped conceal payments. I was afraid of prison.”
Dominic stepped backward.
“So you let my sister die?”
Keller began sobbing.
“I did nothing when I should have acted.”
Detective Ramirez intervened gently.
“Dr. Keller, continue with the sequence of events.”
The doctor nodded.
“Martin and Vincent took Emily toward the boathouse. I followed. Her condition worsened.”
Dominic's eyes burned.
“What did you do?”
“I tried to revive her when she became unresponsive.”
Keller swallowed.
“But I couldn't.”
Dominic's voice cracked.
“Did she ever go into the lake?”
The doctor looked down.
“I didn't see anyone put her there. I left before the body was reportedly recovered. Vincent told me the official story would be accidental drowning.”
Dominic stared.
“Then you signed a death certificate supporting that story.”
“Yes.”
Keller began crying harder.
“I recorded the cause of death without the independent examination that should have happened. I concealed what I had witnessed.”
Dominic looked away.
For nine years, he'd imagined Emily alone beneath the ice.
Now he knew she'd been surrounded by adults who could have helped her.
And they had chosen their secrets instead.
Keller spoke again.
“Samuel Bennett tried to intervene.”
Dominic turned.
“What?”
“He argued with Martin. He demanded an ambulance.”
The doctor closed his eyes.
“I heard him threaten to call the police.”
Dominic swallowed.
“And?”
“Martin had him taken into the security office. Vincent told everyone Bennett had neglected the gate.”
Keller looked toward Dominic.
“He was innocent of the negligence they accused him of.”
For several seconds, Dominic couldn't speak.
Then he asked, “Did my father find out?”
Keller hesitated.
“Later.”
Dominic went completely still.
“How much later?”
“Several months.”
“What did he do?”
“He confronted Vincent. But by then the investigation was closed, and Vincent had hidden documents that could expose illegal transactions associated with the Moretti companies.”
Dominic's expression hardened.
“So my father stayed quiet.”
Keller lowered his eyes.
“He was trying to gather proof.”
“Did he ever find it?”
The doctor shook his head.
“I don't know.”
Dominic stepped away from the bed.
His hands trembled.
He wanted to shout.
He wanted to demand why Keller had waited nine years.
But the man before him was frail and dying.
And no amount of anger would bring Emily back.
So Dominic asked one final question.
“Did my sister suffer?”
Keller's eyes filled.
“She was frightened.”
Dominic closed his eyes.
“But Samuel comforted her before Martin separated them. He told her Captain would find Dominic.”
A tear slid down Dominic's face.
Keller whispered, “She believed him.”
Dominic turned toward the door.
He couldn't stay another second.
Outside, Claire was waiting.
She stood when he appeared.
“Dominic?”
He stopped.
For a moment, he tried to speak.
Then his expression broke.
“She was alive.”
Claire reached for him.
He lowered his head.
“And they could have helped her.”
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Claire wrapped her arms around him.
For the first time since Emily's death, Dominic allowed someone to hold him while he cried.
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