Chapter 6 - The Underground Doctor
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At 2:00 AM, Lena smuggled Elias Thorne through the freight elevator.
Elias was in his sixties, smelling of rubbing alcohol and cheap cigars. He had spent decades fixing broken bones for people who couldn't afford a hospital record, but the sheer luxury of Dante’s penthouse clearly left him stunned.
Dante sat in his chair, wearing dark slacks and a loose t-shirt. He didn't offer a polite greeting. He rolled up his pant leg and pointed to his thigh.
“I felt heat here yesterday,” Dante said bluntly. “My regular physicians say it’s phantom pain. I want the truth.”
Elias didn't ask questions about the armed guards outside. He opened his worn medical bag, pulled out a neurological pinwheel, and knelt beside the mafia boss.
For the next hour, Elias ran brutal, clinical tests. He scraped pins along Dante’s calves, tested reflexes with a rubber mallet, and applied varying degrees of heat and cold. Dante gritted his teeth, refusing to show weakness, but Lena saw the sweat beading on his forehead.
She stood near his chair, instinctively placing a hand on his shoulder. Dante didn't shrug her off. He leaned slightly into her warmth, anchoring himself to her presence.
Finally, Elias sat back on his heels, pushing his glasses up his nose.
“Well?” Dante demanded.
“The spinal damage from the blast is severe, Mr. Vale,” Elias said carefully. “But it isn't a complete severance. The nerve pathways in your lower lumbar are inflamed, but they are intact.”
Dante’s eyes widened. “Then why haven't I felt anything in seven years?”
Elias pulled a small vial of blood he had drawn from Dante earlier. “I’ll need to run this through a mass spectrometer, but based on the deep tissue edema and your pupil dilation... I suspect you’re being medicated.”
“I take painkillers,” Dante said.
“Not painkillers,” Elias corrected. “Neurotoxins. Heavy metals, possibly thallium or a synthetic nerve blocker, administered in micro-doses over a long period. It keeps the nervous system paralyzed. The hot towels caused a sudden vasodilation, rushing fresh blood to the area and temporarily bypassing the block. That’s why you felt the heat.”
The room went completely silent.
Dante stared at the wall. The realization hit him like a physical blow. He hadn't just been a victim of an explosion. He was being actively, continually poisoned by someone inside his inner circle.
“Can it be reversed?” Lena asked softly, her hand tightening on Dante’s shoulder.
May you like
“If we stop the toxins and start aggressive physical therapy, yes,” Elias nodded. “But it will be agonizing. And it will take time.”
“We start tonight,” Dante said, his voice cold and lethal.
