Chapter 6 - THE THREAT AGAINST THE CHILDREN
Detective Hannah Price arrived at Claire's apartment forty minutes later.
She was in her early forties, with sharp brown eyes and the patient manner of someone accustomed to frightened witnesses.
Claire placed the photograph on the kitchen table.
“Do you recognize the handwriting?” Price asked.
“No.”
“Has anyone threatened you before?”
Claire considered the question.
“Vincent's world was full of threats.”
“I'm asking about you.”
“No. Not like this.”
Price examined the photograph.
“Someone followed your former husband to the cemetery. That doesn't necessarily mean you're the intended target.”
“But they delivered it to my home.”
“Yes.”
Claire looked toward the window.
The parking lot was poorly lit.
She suddenly wished she had closed the curtains.
Price noticed.
“I'll arrange extra patrols. I also want you to avoid responding to anything else this person sends.”
Claire nodded.
There was a knock at the door.
She startled.
“It's Jonah,” a familiar voice called.
Claire exhaled.
“That's Dr. Jonah Reed. He works at the hospital.”
Price opened the door after Claire confirmed she wanted him inside.
Jonah entered carrying a grocery bag and a look of concern.
At thirty-seven, he was a pediatric respiratory physician with dark hair, kind eyes, and a habit of rolling his sleeves halfway up his forearms.
He had been Claire's closest friend for nearly three years.
He had also been the doctor who stayed with Lily during her final hospitalization.
“Eleanor called,” he said. “Are you okay?”
Claire nodded.
“I'm trying to be.”
Jonah placed the groceries on the counter.
“Then I'll make dinner.”
“You don't have to.”
“I know.”
He glanced at Detective Price.
“Tell me what's happening.”
By the next morning, the hospital had received another message.
This one arrived by email.
It accused the administration of accepting money from a criminal organization and threatened to expose patient information unless the hospital rejected Vincent's proposed donation.
Dr. Whitcomb called an emergency meeting.
Claire sat beside Jonah while hospital counsel reviewed the email.
“We're treating this as an extortion threat,” the attorney explained. “We won't speculate about who sent it.”
Vincent had been invited because the threat specifically mentioned his foundation.
He entered quietly and took a seat at the far end of the table.
Claire avoided looking at him.
Dr. Whitcomb spoke first.
“Mr. Moretti, the hospital cannot accept funds connected to illegal activities.”
“I understand.”
“Our board will require independent financial verification.”
“You should.”
“And your representatives cannot have access to patient records.”
“Agreed.”
Claire finally looked up.
She remembered a time when Vincent would have become furious at being questioned.
Now he simply listened.
The change made her uncomfortable.
She did not want to admire him for behaving like an ordinary decent person.
Vincent turned toward Dr. Whitcomb.
“If accepting my donation puts this hospital at risk, withdraw the proposal.”
The room went quiet.
He continued.
“Have your board identify another reputable funding partner. I'll work through a legal charitable vehicle if your attorneys approve it, and I won't interfere with the hospital's decisions.”
Jonah studied him.
“That's a start,” he said.
Vincent met his eyes.
“It's not enough.”
“No,” Jonah replied. “It isn't.”
Claire looked between them.
Something about the exchange surprised her.
Jonah was not intimidated.
Vincent did not threaten him.
For perhaps the first time, two men in Claire's life were speaking about her without competing to control her.
Dr. Whitcomb ended the meeting with an announcement.
“Until this matter is resolved, all proposed donations will remain under review. Children's care will continue without interruption.”
As people stood, Vincent approached Claire.
She stiffened.
“I didn't know about the photograph,” he said.
“I didn't accuse you.”
“I want you to know that.”
She looked at him.
“Then help the detective find who took it. Give her the information she requests.”
“I will.”
“Good.”
He hesitated.
“Claire, I also found the letter from Lily's specialist.”
Her expression changed.
He swallowed.
“I know there was a possible transfer.”
“Don't.”
“I know I could have paid—”
“Vincent.”
He stopped.
Claire's voice shook.
“Do not stand here and tell me she definitely would have lived if you'd answered. You don't know that.”
He stared at her.
“I know.”
“The doctors couldn't promise me anything. I lived with hope and fear every single day. I will not let you rewrite her death into a story where one rich man could have magically fixed everything.”
Tears filled his eyes.
“I understand.”
“No,” she said. “But you can understand this: we should have had the chance to try.”
Vincent nodded.
Claire walked away.
Jonah waited beside the elevator.
“You okay?” he asked.
“No.”
“Want company?”
She looked at him.
“Yes.”
He pressed the elevator button.
As the doors opened, Claire noticed Vincent watching them.
For an instant, the old Vincent appeared in his expression.
Jealousy.
Possessiveness.
Anger.
Then he looked away.
And Claire realized something important.
He was beginning to understand that losing her meant losing the right to decide who stood beside her.
That night in Chicago, Sophia met with a man named Dominic Voss inside a private dining room.
Voss owned a chain of medical staffing companies and had spent years attempting to enter the lucrative world of hospital management.
Vincent had once refused to partner with him.
Sophia placed a folder on the table.
“Moretti's vulnerable,” she said.
Voss smiled.
“Men like Vincent are always vulnerable somewhere.”
“He has a dead daughter. A former wife working at a financially distressed hospital. And an embarrassing history he'd do anything to keep quiet.”
Voss leaned forward.
“What do you want?”
Sophia's eyes were cold.
“My career back. My money. And I want Claire Bennett to lose the only thing she has left.”
Voss opened the folder.
Inside were financial projections for the children's hospital.
May you like
He smiled again.
“This,” he said, “could be very profitable.”
