Chapter 4 - The House With Too Many Secrets
Damian's estate looked less like a home than a place designed to survive a siege.
Stone walls.
Iron gates.
Security cameras.
Men stationed everywhere.
Elena stepped from the sedan.
"This is subtle."
"I've never claimed to be subtle."
Inside, she was shown to a guest room larger than her apartment.
She placed her bag on the bed.
"I hate this."
Damian stood in the doorway.
"The room?"
"The fact that your bathroom is bigger than my kitchen."
"Your kitchen is very small."
She slowly turned.
"You promised."
"I learned that yesterday."
"Still creepy."
A knock interrupted them.
Marco entered.
"We found something."
Damian's expression changed.
"Study."
Elena followed.
Damian turned.
"No."
"Someone threatened me. I get to hear."
"It's dangerous."
"So is working Saturday night in an ER."
Marco looked at Damian.
"She's got you there."
Damian ignored him.
In the study, photographs covered a table.
Marco pointed at one man.
Victor Doyle.
"Your mystery cousin," Elena said.
"Correct."
Marco placed another photograph beside it.
Elena's stomach dropped.
She recognized the second man.
"That's Dr. Warren."
Damian looked at her.
"You know him?"
"He's a trauma surgeon at St. Agnes."
Marco frowned.
"He met Doyle twice this week."
Elena stared at the photograph.
"Why would a surgeon be involved?"
Damian answered.
"Because Doyle expected me to survive the initial attack."
Elena understood immediately.
"And if you'd gone to a hospital..."
"Someone would finish the job."
"That's why you refused."
"Yes."
Elena looked again.
"Dr. Warren was working last night."
Damian nodded.
"Exactly."
Suddenly, Elena remembered something.
"A patient."
"What?"
"Three nights ago. Unidentified male. Severe injuries. Warren transferred him before I finished intake."
"Where?"
"I don't know."
Marco opened a laptop.
"Can you access the record?"
"Not from here."
Damian reached for his coat.
"We're going."
Elena stared at him.
"To the hospital?"
"Yes."
"You can't just walk into medical records."
Damian looked at Marco.
Marco shrugged.
"We probably can."
"No."
Elena pointed at Damian.
"We do this legally."
Damian's eyebrows rose.
"You're telling a mafia boss to follow hospital policy?"
"Yes."
He stared at her for several seconds.
"Fine."
At St. Agnes, Elena used her credentials to review the transfer history.
Her face slowly changed.
"The patient wasn't transferred."
Damian leaned closer.
"What happened?"
"The chart was deleted."
Marco cursed.
Elena clicked through archived logs.
Then she found a name.
"Wait."
A temporary note remained.
Anthony Moretti.
Damian stopped breathing.
Elena looked at him.
"You know him."
"My younger brother."
Marco stared at the screen.
"Anthony disappeared eight months ago."
Damian's voice became dangerously quiet.
"We thought he was dead."
Elena turned.
"Apparently somebody wanted you to think that."
A voice came from behind them.
"She really is good."
Dr. Warren stood in the doorway.
He locked it.
Damian stepped in front of Elena.
Warren smiled.
"Victor said she'd lead us straight to the missing record."
Elena stared at him.
"You used a patient."
"I used leverage."
"Where is Anthony?"
Warren looked at Damian.
"Alive."
Damian's fists tightened.
"For now."
Elena saw Damian change.
Not into the injured stranger.
Into the man everyone feared.
"Tell me where my brother is."
Warren's smile disappeared.
"No."
Damian stepped forward.
Elena grabbed his arm.
"Don't."
"He knows where Anthony is."
"And if you hurt him, he may never tell you."
Damian looked down at her hand.
Then at Warren.
Elena stepped forward instead.
"Warren, Doyle will kill you."
He laughed.
"No."
"He tried to kill Damian."
"That's different."
"No, it isn't. You're the loose end."
Warren's face changed.
Elena knew she'd hit something.
"Help us find Anthony," she said. "Or wait until Doyle decides you know too much."
Silence.
Finally, Warren whispered an address.
Marco immediately called his men.
Damian looked at Elena.
"You just frightened a man who wasn't afraid of me."
She shrugged.
May you like
"Doctors hate being told they're wrong."
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