Chapter 4 - THE HOUSEKEEPER'S HIDDEN FILE
Adrian didn't come that night.
Instead, he sent a message.
You're being paranoid. Call me when you've calmed down.
I forwarded it to Julian.
Then asked Alina whether she had any more documents from her husband.
She hesitated.
"There's a file."
"Where?"
"In my apartment."
I nodded.
"Would you like someone independent to help you retrieve it safely?"
She looked surprised.
"You're not sending Marcus?"
"No."
Her shoulders relaxed slightly.
The following afternoon, Alina returned with a battered brown folder.
She placed it on my desk.
Inside were copies of hospital access logs, handwritten notes, and a letter from Daniel Reyes.
The letter was dated twelve days before his death.
Alina,
If something happens to me, don't assume it was an accident.
I found evidence that someone accessed confidential medical information connected to Damian Cross. I don't know why yet.
I reported it through the proper channels, but I don't trust the people who keep asking me to forget what I saw.
Please protect Sophia.
I read the letter twice.
Then a third time.
My hands shook.
Not from fear.
From anger.
Daniel's notes mentioned a private contractor called Blackstone Medical Logistics.
The company handled specialized pharmaceutical deliveries.
It also had business ties to Adrian.
I called Julian.
"Find out everything about Blackstone."
He sighed.
"Damian, I'm an attorney, not a private detective."
"Then hire one."
"That I can do."
The independent investigator was a woman named Rachel Stone.
Former federal financial analyst.
Forty-six.
Sharp-eyed.
Unimpressed by my reputation.
She arrived the next morning.
I showed her the documents.
She studied them.
Then looked at me.
"You're telling me your brother may have been involved in accessing your medical records?"
"Yes."
"And your security chief may have facilitated a medication substitution?"
"Possibly."
She nodded.
"Then we need evidence, not assumptions."
I liked her immediately.
Rachel began reviewing the records through lawful channels.
She contacted the pharmacy.
Examined delivery documentation.
And coordinated with investigators handling the suspected tampering.
Two days later, she returned with troubling information.
"The bottle delivered to your mansion wasn't shipped by your regular pharmacy."
I stared.
"Then where did it come from?"
"Blackstone Medical Logistics."
My jaw tightened.
"Adrian's company."
Rachel nodded.
"And there's something else."
She placed a photograph on my desk.
It showed Marcus entering Blackstone's Chicago office three nights before the medication arrived.
I stared.
May you like
The man who'd taken a bullet for me had walked into the office of the company now connected to the pills that almost killed me.
And he hadn't told me.
