Chapter 8 - Mara Quinn's Confession
Mara Quinn was waiting in the last pew.
"My father investigated Salvatore twenty-three years ago," she said.
Adrian sat across the aisle.
"Then why is your foundation signing Meridian contracts?"
"Because I wanted access."
She approved controlled contracts so her auditors could follow the money.
"You used hospitals as bait?" I asked.
Her eyes hardened.
"No. The drugs were legitimate. The billing network wasn't. The danger came when someone changed monitoring requirements to save money. That change never came through my office."
"Who changed it?"
"A subcontractor called Vale Clinical Services."
Adrian knew the name.
"Salvatore's lawyer owns it."
Mara nodded.
Then she looked at me.
"Your mother's reaction exposed a pattern. Three other patients had similar events. Nobody connected them because the hospitals were different."
Mara handed Adrian a flash drive.
"These are the files my father never got to finish."
"Why give them to me now?"
"Because Salvatore is forcing the five-family alliance vote next week. If he keeps control of the Moretti proxy, he can bury this network for another decade."
I finally understood.
Mara looked at me.
"You're the problem he didn't plan for."
"Because Adrian likes me?"
"Because you don't belong to any family he can threaten through a boardroom."
That was not comforting.
Then the church door opened.
A man in a dark suit walked in.
Mara froze.
"That's Salvatore's attorney."
Adrian stood.
The attorney stopped twenty feet away.
"Mr. Moretti. Your uncle requests your presence."
"Tell him no."
The man looked at me.
"The request wasn't for you."
May you like
Then he smiled.
"Ms. Hart's mother has already accepted his invitation.
