Chapter 6: The Second Accident
Maya called the police, but Adrian no longer trusted anyone connected to his family.
Grant served on the city police foundation board. Hale treated judges, senators, and
commissioners. A normal report would reach Grant within minutes.
They returned to Adrian’s penthouse through a private service entrance.
Maya assembled a small team of people she trusted.
Adrian spread the recovered files across his office desk.
Every treatment decision after the crash had been signed by Dr. Hale.
Every payment had been approved by Grant.
The doses of Adrian’s muscle relaxants had increased whenever his rehabilitation notes showed improvement.
Adrian opened a drawer and removed the medication he had been taking for nine years.
“Get this tested independently.”
Maya nodded.
His phone rang.
Grant.
Adrian answered without speaking.
“You went to the old clinic,” Grant said.
“Where is Caleb?”
“I don’t know.”
“Hale took him.”
“Marcus wouldn’t harm a child.”
“You knew the clinic still existed.”
Silence.
Grant exhaled slowly.
“Come home. We’ll discuss this privately.”
“You destroyed my letters from Hannah.”
“I protected you.”
“You kept my son from me.”
“You still don’t know that boy is yours.”
Adrian looked at the photograph.
“Did you cause the crash?”
Grant laughed softly.
“You’re frightened and confused.”
“Answer me.”
“The brakes failed.”
“How did you know it was the brakes? The official report blamed black ice.”
Grant stopped speaking.
Adrian’s blood turned cold.
Grant had revealed something only the person responsible should have known.
A loud crash came from the hallway.
Maya ran toward the sound.
Adrian tried to turn his wheelchair, but his arms suddenly weakened.
His vision blurred.
The medication.
Someone had changed his evening dose.
He reached for the desk, knocking the bottle to the floor.
Maya returned and caught him before he slipped from the chair.
“What’s happening?”
“Don’t let me take anything from this house.”
The lights flickered.
A vehicle engine roared below.
Maya looked through the window.
Adrian’s private nurse was running toward a black SUV.
The same nurse Grant had hired three years earlier.
Maya’s phone rang.
It was a blocked number.
She answered and placed it on speaker.
Caleb’s frightened voice filled the room.
“Adrian, they found my mom.”
May you like
Then a man took the phone.
“Come alone,” Dr. Hale said, “or the boy learns what really happened to her.”
