Chapter 10 - The Secret Safe|
Dr. Aris Vance had disappeared from the medical community two years ago. His license had been quietly revoked, and the hospital had wiped his existence from their public directory. The official story was early retirement.
Ricardo knew better now.
Using Marcus’s background check, Ricardo found a forwarding address for the doctor—a rundown apartment complex on the edge of the city limits.
It was raining heavily when Ricardo pulled his car into the cracked asphalt parking lot. He grabbed his coat, hiding a heavy steel wrench in his pocket, and walked up to apartment 4B.
He knocked twice. No answer.
He knocked again, louder this time. “Dr. Vance! I know you uploaded the file. I know about Vanguard Holdings.”
The door unlocked with a metallic click. It opened an inch, revealing a chain lock and the terrified, sunken eyes of a man who looked ten years older than his actual age.
“Are you Ricardo?” the doctor asked, his voice trembling.
“Yes. Let me in.”
Dr. Vance closed the door, undid the chain, and stepped back.
The apartment was a mess. Boxes were stacked everywhere, filled with shredded documents and empty liquor bottles. Vance looked like a man who had been waiting for an executioner.
“You shouldn't have come here,” Vance said, pacing nervously. “Lucas has people everywhere.”
“Lucas sent two men to my apartment today. They shot at me,” Ricardo said coldly. “Why did you send me that audio file?”
Vance collapsed onto a broken sofa, putting his head in his hands.
“Because I couldn't carry the guilt anymore. Camila was my patient. I cared about her. But Lucas... Lucas found out I had a gambling debt with the wrong people. He paid it off. In exchange, he told me to adjust her medication chart.”
“You killed her?” Ricardo stepped forward, his fists clenching, a blinding rage rising in his chest.
“No!” Vance held up his hands defensively. “I refused! I told him I wouldn't do it. But that night, Lucas brought in a private nurse. Someone not on the hospital payroll. I tried to stop them, but Lucas threatened to expose my debts and ruin my family.”
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“So you just walked away?”
“No. I secured the only thing that could hang him. I have the original toxicology report. The one Lucas paid the coroner to destroy.”
