Chapter 9 - The Missing Minute
“Then whose signature is it?” Giata demanded.
Elias turned the paper over. “Someone with access to my office.”
Dr. Mercer reached for his bag. Owen blocked the doorway.
“Sit,” Elias said.
Mercer sat.
The independent physician Giata had called, Dr. Helen Park, arrived the next morning. She reviewed Giata's chart and frowned.
“These doses need a supervised taper,” she said. “You shouldn't stop them suddenly. But I see no clear reason for some of the increases. You deserve a full review and a care plan you control.”
Giata gripped the wheelchair arms. “I've been asking for that for three years.”
“And you should have had it,” Dr. Park replied.
Elias asked Mercer one question. “Who paid you?”
Mercer wouldn't answer until Elias placed a bank transfer record on the table. The sender was a company named North Pier Holdings. Dominic's accountant controlled it.
“I never meant to hurt her,” Mercer whispered.
“You kept her asleep,” Giata said. “You watched me disappear and sent another bill.”
Marisol stepped between Elias and the doctor. “If you hit him, he stops talking.”
Elias backed away. It looked like the hardest thing he'd done all morning.
By noon, Owen had recovered partial recordings from a backup camera the attackers hadn't found. Giata watched the footage with Elias and Marisol. At 1:57 a.m., Owen himself disabled the east perimeter camera. At 1:58, the intruders came through the gate.
“You let them in,” Elias said quietly.
Owen's face drained. “I can explain.”
“Start with the truth.”
Owen reached into his jacket, and Elias's guard raised a gun. But Owen pulled out a child's photograph: a blond girl with freckles, grinning on a school bus.
“My daughter, Chloe. Dominic's men have had her for two days.” His voice broke. “They said they'd send her home in pieces if I didn't give them a window.”
Giata covered her mouth. Elias stared at the photograph, then at the man who had kept him alive for twelve years.
May you like
Owen's phone buzzed. He read the screen and staggered backward.
“They've changed the deal,” he said. “Now they want Giata.”
