Chapter 3 - The Doctor Who Asked No Questions.
Dr. Evelyn Mercer arrived twenty-two minutes later through the service elevator with two medical bags and an expression that told Adrian she had already decided not to ask why armed building security was waiting in the lobby.
By then, Adrian's own security team had regained control of the floor.
The two men in fake uniforms had disappeared.
No vehicle had been captured leaving the garage.
That fact bothered him more than if they had escaped on camera.
Evelyn knelt beside the makeshift bed and examined the baby.
Claire watched every movement.
"His name is Noah," she said quietly.
Evelyn smiled at the infant.
"Hello, Noah."
After several minutes, she looked at Claire.
"He has a significant fever and he's dehydrated, but his breathing is stable."
Claire's eyes filled.
"Is he going to be okay?"
"I believe so, but I want him seen in a hospital if his temperature doesn't respond quickly."
Claire immediately shook her head.
"No hospital."
Adrian folded his arms.
"Claire."
"They found us at the clinic. They'll find us there too."
Evelyn glanced between them.
"Who are 'they'?"
Claire said nothing.
Adrian answered for her.
"Men with a scorpion tattoo."
Evelyn's hand stopped over her medical bag.
Adrian noticed.
"You recognize that?"
"I've heard the name."
"What name?"
Evelyn looked uncomfortable.
"The Scorpion Group."
Claire stared at her.
"They're real?"
"I don't know what they really call themselves," Evelyn said.
"But years ago, some emergency room doctors were warned about men with that marking. They showed up after certain assaults and pressured victims not to talk."
Adrian felt a familiar coldness settle in his chest.
His father had once used the same phrase.
Scorpion Group.
Adrian had been twenty-four when he overheard it through the door of his father's study.
The next morning, his father claimed it was only a nickname for aggressive investors.
Six months later, Thomas Cafalli died when his car went through a guardrail in Connecticut.
The police called it an accident.
Adrian had never believed them.
Evelyn handed Claire medication and carefully explained what she was doing.
Noah began to settle.
His tiny fingers curled around Claire's thumb.
For the first time that night, Claire's shoulders lowered.
Adrian stepped toward the window.
"Tell me everything."
Claire looked at his back.
"I can't."
He turned.
"Two strangers bypassed my building security because you came here. Someone photographed you entering my home. Your son is sick because you were too afraid to take him to a hospital."
His voice remained low.
"You can."
Claire's eyes hardened with exhaustion.
"The last person who knew everything was my husband."
Adrian paused.
He had never heard her mention a husband.
"Where is he?"
Claire looked at Noah.
"Dead."
The room seemed to shrink around them.
"His name was Daniel Dawson," she said.
Adrian's breath stopped.
He knew that name too.
Daniel Dawson had been a forensic accountant hired by Cafalli Holdings eighteen months earlier.
He had vanished before delivering his final report.
And Adrian had been told Daniel had stolen company money and fled the country.
Claire looked directly at him.
"Your people told you he was a thief, didn't they?"
Adrian did not answer.
Claire's expression became bitter.
"He wasn't."
May you like
She reached beneath Noah's blanket.
"He died because he found out who the thieves really were."
