Chapter 9 - The Dead Sister
Margaret agreed to speak without Arthur present.
Lena arranged the interview in a secured hospital conference room because Emily refused to leave Noah.
Margaret sat beneath harsh ceiling lights, looking older than she had that morning.
Her elegant coat had been taken as evidence.
Without it, she seemed fragile.
Emily did not feel sympathy.
“Is Caroline alive?” she asked.
Margaret closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
The answer landed quietly.
“Where is she?”
“I don’t know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“Arthur kept contact with her.”
“Why did you tell everyone she died?”
Margaret looked at the table.
“Because Arthur said it was the only way to protect Daniel.”
Emily leaned forward.
“Protect him from what?”
“Caroline was brilliant. More brilliant than Arthur. She understood the company records even as a teenager.”
“What records?”
“The first fraud.”
Lena started recording more carefully.
Margaret continued.
“Arthur inherited one clinic from his father. It was failing. He and Victor created false billing accounts to keep it open. Caroline discovered what they were doing.”
“How?”
“She worked in the office during school holidays.”
“What happened?”
“She threatened to report them.”
“So Arthur erased her?”
“No.”
Margaret’s voice trembled.
“He sent her away.”
“Where?”
“A private psychiatric facility.”
Emily stared at her.
“Was she ill?”
“She was angry. Uncontrollable.”
“That was not my question.”
Margaret looked toward the one-way glass.
“No. She was not ill.”
Lena’s expression hardened.
“They imprisoned her.”
“Arthur had physicians sign the papers. He told Daniel she had died in an accident.”
“How old was Daniel?”
“Fourteen.”
“Did he believe it?”
“For years.”
“When did he learn the truth?”
“After medical school. Caroline contacted him.”
Emily thought of Daniel’s secretive calls, unexplained travel, and increasing conflict with Arthur.
“What did she want?”
“To expose Arthur.”
“Did Daniel help her?”
“At first.”
“At first?”
“Then he discovered Caroline had become involved with Victor.”
Emily felt the story twist.
“Victor helped imprison her.”
“He later helped release her.”
“Why?”
“Because she had copies of the earliest records. Victor wanted them.”
Lena asked, “Why would Caroline work with him?”
Margaret shook her head.
“I do not know. Maybe revenge. Maybe money. Maybe she wanted Arthur to lose everything.”
Emily placed the photograph on the table.
“Is this Caroline?”
Margaret looked once and began crying.
“Yes.”
“Was she at Pine Hollow the night Daniel died?”
Margaret’s hands shook.
“She came after Victor.”
“What happened?”
“I heard them arguing in the study.”
“Who?”
“All of them. Arthur, Victor, Daniel, Caroline.”
“Did you see anyone leave?”
“Daniel left first.”
“Alone?”
“Yes.”
“What about Caroline?”
“She left a few minutes later.”
“In what vehicle?”
“A dark sedan.”
“The car Noah saw.”
Margaret looked confused.
Emily explained the events near the highway.
Margaret covered her mouth.
“Caroline would not hurt Noah.”
“You do not know that.”
“She loved Daniel.”
“Then why send a man to kill Daniel’s son?”
“I don’t believe she did.”
“The message came from C.”
“That could mean anyone.”
Emily stood.
“You planted evidence on a child. You watched him beg at the door. Your judgment means nothing to me.”
Margaret began sobbing.
“I wanted to open it.”
“But you didn’t.”
“Arthur controlled everything.”
“You had a hand.”
“I was afraid of him.”
“So was Noah.”
Margaret’s face collapsed.
Emily sat again.
“Tell me what Daniel said the night he died.”
Margaret wiped her cheeks.
“He said he had proof Victor caused the equipment failures.”
“Caused them intentionally?”
“He said the defective equipment was not an accident. Victor knew it would fail.”
“Why would he knowingly distribute dangerous devices?”
“To create emergencies.”
Lena frowned.
“For what purpose?”
Margaret looked toward Emily.
“Victor invested in private ambulance companies, specialized transfer centers, and surgical facilities. When patients deteriorated, they were moved into systems he controlled.”
Emily understood.
The equipment failures generated profitable transfers.
Patients were harmed to create revenue.
“How many people knew?”
“I don’t know.”
“Who inside Saint Catherine’s helped him?”
Margaret hesitated.
“Daniel never told me the name.”
“You said someone he trusted was at Pine Hollow.”
Margaret nodded.
“Caroline arrived with someone else.”
“Who?”
“I never saw the face.”
“Man or woman?”
“A woman.”
“Did you hear her speak?”
“Once.”
“What did she say?”
Margaret looked at Emily.
“She said, ‘You promised Emily would never find out.’”
Emily felt cold.
“Did you recognize the voice?”
Margaret whispered, “I thought I did.”
“Whose?”
Before she could answer, an explosion shook the building.
The lights flickered.
A deep boom echoed from the parking structure.
Alarms began sounding.
Lena rushed to the window.
Flames rose from the lower level of the hospital garage.
Smoke rolled into the snow.
Margaret stood.
“What happened?”
Lena’s phone rang.
She answered, listened, and turned toward Emily.
“The evidence transport vehicle was in that garage.”
Emily’s stomach dropped.
“The memory card?”
Lena nodded.
“Someone just destroyed it.”
Margaret backed toward the wall.
Emily looked at her.
“Who knew it was being moved?”
“Police. Hospital security. Evidence staff.”
“And us,” Julian said from the doorway.
Everyone turned.
His face was grim.
“There is another problem.”
He held up his phone.
The hospital network had received an anonymous broadcast.
A video began playing on screens throughout the building.
Arthur appeared on camera, seated in an unfamiliar room.
His hands were tied.
Blood marked one side of his face.
Behind him stood a woman.
Caroline.
She looked directly into the camera.
“Emily,” she said, “your husband lied to you.”
May you like
Then she raised a gun to Arthur’s head.
“And unless you bring me Daniel’s files, his father dies next.”
