Chapter 5 - The Price of Silence
Daniel entered the apartment and closed the door behind him.
Emily immediately moved nearer to the kitchen, keeping the island between them.
Vanessa held the tablet against her chest.
“She already knew about the payment.”
“No,” Daniel said. “She suspected. There’s a difference.”
Emily began recording on her phone without raising it.
“Lily’s medication was sold.”
Daniel removed his coat calmly.
“You don’t understand financial systems.”
“A payment was made from her medical reserve to Vanessa’s company.”
“It was a legitimate reimbursement.”
“For medication that Vanessa never received?”
Vanessa looked at him.
“You told me the container was going back to the hospital.”
“It did.”
Emily remembered the empty compartments.
“No, it didn’t.”
Daniel poured himself a glass of water.
“Lily’s doctors have replacement inventory.”
“That doesn’t make the theft harmless.”
“No one was supposed to notice a delay.”
Emily stared at him.
“A delay?”
“Her treatment schedule has flexibility.”
“You are not her doctor.”
“I manage the insurance.”
“You manage nothing anymore.”
Daniel smiled.
“You can’t remove me from the company or the medical reserve. Your father made sure of that.”
“My father never trusted you.”
“He trusted me enough to sign the management agreement.”
Emily thought of the papers placed in front of her after the funeral.
“My father was unconscious during his last two days.”
Daniel took a drink.
“The document was signed before then.”
“Show it to me.”
“It’s filed with the estate.”
Vanessa placed the tablet on the counter.
“Daniel, you said this was only a temporary transaction.”
“It is.”
“You said no patient would miss anything.”
“No patient did.”
“Lily did,” Emily said.
Daniel’s eyes sharpened.
“She received her first dose.”
“The other two are gone.”
“Then the hospital lost them.”
“You transferred them.”
“You have no proof.”
Emily held up her phone.
“You admitted enough.”
Daniel’s expression remained calm.
“Recordings made inside a private residence may not be as useful as you think.”
“You knew I was recording?”
“I know you.”
He reached into his coat and placed a key card on the counter.
St. Catherine Medical Center.
The temporary badge used to enter the medication room.
Vanessa stepped back.
“Why do you have that?”
Daniel looked at Emily.
“Because someone put it in my car.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I expect the police to believe evidence.”
He pushed the badge toward her.
“The badge contains your fingerprints.”
Emily did not touch it.
“I’ve never seen it.”
“You handled dozens of hospital cards during Lily’s admission.”
“You put my fingerprints on it.”
“That sounds paranoid.”
Vanessa’s breathing quickened.
“Daniel, get out.”
He turned toward her.
“This apartment belongs to Carter Development.”
“It was transferred to my company.”
“Your company exists because I created it.”
“And now the police are going to examine every payment.”
Daniel’s eyes became cold.
“You signed the reimbursement acceptance.”
“You told me it was legal.”
“I told you it was business.”
Emily watched the realization spread across Vanessa’s face.
Daniel had never intended to protect her.
If the scheme was exposed, the documents would make Vanessa appear to be the buyer, while Emily’s identity made her appear to be the seller.
Daniel had placed himself in the middle as the innocent administrator.
Emily picked up the tablet.
“I’m taking this.”
Daniel blocked her path.
“No.”
Vanessa stepped between them.
“Let her take it.”
He looked at his sister as though she had become a stranger.
“You should remember who paid your debts.”
“And you should remember whose signature is on the false account,” Vanessa replied. “If I go down, you go with me.”
Daniel’s phone rang.
He checked the screen.
The confidence left his face.
“Who is it?” Emily asked.
He rejected the call.
A second later, Emily’s phone rang.
Dr. Bennett.
She answered immediately.
“Emily, Lily’s condition has changed. We need the missing doses now.”
“I’m coming.”
“The pharmacy is attempting to replace them, but the insurer has frozen the prescription.”
“Why?”
“They received notice that all three doses were already administered.”
Emily looked at Daniel.
He was watching her.
Dr. Bennett continued.
“The record says you personally confirmed the administration.”
“I never did.”
“I know. But until we override the record, the system will not release another shipment.”
Emily grabbed the tablet.
Daniel stepped aside.
May you like
This time, he did not try to stop her.
He only said, “By the time you prove anything, the records will show that you did it.”
