Chapter 9 - A Deal Written in Blood
Tessa Morgan arrived wearing jeans and a rain jacket, not the dark suit Damon had expected. She showed her credentials twice, then asked to speak in a quiet consultation room.
Tessa had a habit of leaving silence after hard questions. It bothered Damon at first, until he realized she was giving him space to answer without being steered. Warren had never done that. Warren always supplied the conclusion first and then waited for Damon to agree.
"I won't promise you a rescue," she said. "I will promise I won't hide evidence from you."
It was the first honest thing Damon had heard from anyone in power for months.
Tessa laid out the case. Aster's research division had obtained valuable biological data through falsified consent forms. Its executives sold privileged access to that information to private investors. When parents complained, records changed, samples vanished, and witnesses were pressured into silence.
"Who runs it?" Damon asked.
"Nathan Cross. Publicly, he's a philanthropist. Privately, he authorizes the off-book facilities."
"And Warren?"
"Your uncle runs the finance company Aster uses to move money."
Damon shook his head. "Warren raised me after my mother left. He was family."
"That's why he could move so close to you."
Maya arrived with two coffees and news that Noah was resting. Damon took one cup but couldn't drink it.
"Why didn't Hannah come home?" he asked.
Tessa's answer hurt more than he expected. "She tried. Twice. She believed someone in your circle would intercept her."
"I would've believed her."
"You weren't the person she was afraid of."
Tessa opened a tablet. A security video showed Hannah in a plain hallway, limping toward an exit. A man stepped into view and caught her by the elbow.
Damon recognized the man's silver watch before his face appeared.
Uncle Warren.
"Where was this filmed?" Damon asked.
"Last Tuesday."
His uncle had visited Noah's nursery last Tuesday. He'd held the baby and called him his little miracle.
Damon stood so fast the chair scraped backward.
Tessa put a steadying hand on the table. "There's another piece. Warren gave orders for your son to be transferred tonight."
May you like
"From this hospital?"
"Yes," she said. "And somebody just tried to authorize it using your signature."
