Chapter 11 - The Doctor's Lie
Dominic did not raise his voice.
That frightened Mercer more than shouting would have.
"Why?"
Mercer sat heavily in a chair.
"Two years ago my daughter was arrested with pills that weren't hers. Arthur made the case disappear. I owed him."
"So you gave him medical access to me?"
"I gave him an administrative password. I never authorized medication changes. I swear to you."
Dominic stared at the man who had treated his family for twelve years.
"You saw my condition worsening."
"I thought it was surgical inflammation."
"You wanted to think that."
Mercer flinched.
The distinction mattered.
Dominic ordered him to tell the police everything.
Mercer agreed.
Before leaving, he stopped at the door.
"There is something else. Your original surgical scans don't match the copies in my clinic system."
Dominic looked up.
"Meaning?"
"Somebody replaced images after the operation. The copies make your injury look more severe than it was."
Dominic turned to Vincent. "Find the original hospital archive."
By sunrise they had it.
The original scan showed ligament damage and a clean fracture.
The altered copy showed nerve compression severe enough to justify a long, uncertain recovery.
Someone had manufactured the medical story Arthur needed for the board.
Then Vincent found one more file in the hospital access log.
The altered scan had been uploaded from a consultant account belonging to Dr. Elaine Voss.
Arthur's wife.
Arthur finally spoke when police confronted him.
"Elaine had nothing to do with this."
Dominic leaned across the table.
"You just confirmed she did."
Arthur's face changed.
Another mistake.
Then Vincent entered carrying a printed financial report.
"Boss, Black Harbor moved thirty-eight million dollars last year."
Dominic frowned. "The project died a decade ago."
"On paper."
May you like
Vincent placed the report in front of him.
"In reality, somebody has been using it every quarter since Marcus supposedly died."
