Chapter 9 - Two Men, One Identity

Marcus left the office before Adrian could block the elevator. His lawyer called minutes later, claiming the badge was a practical joke. Nobody believed him, but a fake identification card alone wasn't enough to prove a larger crime.

The warehouse investigators recovered shipping labels, encrypted hard drives, and a logbook with pages torn out. One untouched entry listed a delivery to Saint Gabriel Children's Clinic under an emergency relief program. Twenty-three insulated boxes had been received. Only fourteen appeared in the clinic's inventory.

“Missing boxes don't prove patients were harmed,” Naomi cautioned.

“Then we find the nine boxes,” Adrian said.

His voice had changed. He was no longer defending his company's reputation. He was trying to learn whether his company had been used to endanger people.

At the clinic, the director explained that the charity had supplied specialty medicine during a supply shortage. Shortly afterward, several batches were recalled as counterfeit. The clinic had quarantined what remained and alerted regulators, but records from the outside distributor were incomplete.

I imagined parents standing at a pharmacy counter, believing the boxes were safe because a trusted name was printed on them. Rage pressed hard against my ribs.

“Evelyn was here,” the director said. “She asked whether any children had gotten the wrong stock. I told her we were still investigating.”

“Did she come back?” Adrian asked.

“No. A man visited the following week, said he was her representative, and took the copies of her notes.”

The director pulled a visitor log from a locked drawer. The man had signed as Owen Reed, my father. Beside the name was a phone number I didn't recognize.

Price ran the number. It had belonged to a burner device used by Holt.

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A second call came while we were driving home. Mrs. Bell was crying so hard I barely understood her. Someone had taken Sophie from her school pickup line using a copied authorization letter.

The name of the authorized adult was mine.