Chapter 3 - THE FIFTEEN-MINUTE WINDOW
Z
The emergency physician at Mercy West Hospital was named Dr. Rebecca Sloan.
She had tired brown eyes and the kind of calm voice that made frightening things sound manageable without pretending they were harmless.
She explained that Gabriel's condition was critical.
He had suffered major blood loss, traumatic injuries, and exposure to an unknown toxic substance.
His earlier declaration of death required a formal review.
"How could they have been so wrong?" I asked.
Dr. Sloan didn't speculate.
"We need to reconstruct exactly what happened, including the medications he received and the monitoring performed."
I looked through the glass toward his room.
Gabriel lay beneath clean blankets, surrounded by machines.
For the first time since the warehouse ambush, he looked like a patient rather than a corpse.
Elena found me in the waiting room at seven.
She carried two coffees.
"Drink."
I accepted one.
"Has Carmine been arrested?"
"He's being questioned."
"Will he be charged?"
"That depends on the evidence."
I stared at her.
"He pointed a gun at us."
"That part has witnesses."
She sat opposite me.
"There's something else."
I waited.
"Gabriel's private security system was disabled for fifteen minutes before the warehouse ambush."
My stomach tightened.
"Coincidence?"
"No."
"How do you know?"
"Because the shutdown was authorized using Carmine's credentials."
I looked down at my coffee.
"Carmine arranged the attack."
"We suspect he helped."
"Why?"
Elena hesitated.
"Gabriel was planning to remove him."
She explained that Gabriel had discovered irregularities in the family's shipping companies.
Missing revenue.
Unauthorized contracts.
Payments to organizations nobody could identify.
Carmine had managed those accounts.
When Gabriel ordered an independent audit, Carmine began recruiting allies.
"Gabriel knew?"
"He knew something was wrong. He didn't know how far it went."
I remembered Carmine's smile when he'd tripped me.
The casual cruelty.
The confidence that nobody would challenge him.
"What happens to the companies now?"
Elena looked exhausted.
"That's the problem. Carmine has already issued instructions claiming emergency authority."
"Can he do that?"
"Not lawfully in every case. But confusion gives people opportunities."
That afternoon, Gabriel briefly regained consciousness.
Dr. Sloan allowed me into his room for a few minutes.
He turned his head when he heard my voice.
"Matilda."
I approached.
"You're supposed to be resting."
His mouth moved into the faintest smile.
"Giving orders already?"
I almost cried.
"Someone has to."
He watched me.
"Did Carmine hurt you?"
"No."
"Are you certain?"
"Yes."
His expression eased.
Then he whispered, "My desk."
I frowned.
"What?"
"Bottom drawer. Blue envelope."
"What's inside?"
His eyes closed.
"Proof."
I leaned closer.
"Proof of what?"
His lips barely moved.
"Who betrayed me."
Then the monitor sounded and a nurse entered.
I stepped back.
But Gabriel caught my fingers once more.
"Matilda."
May you like
"Yes?"
"Don't open it in the house."
