Part 7
The rain began to fall as the black SUV pulled up to the rear entrance of Dr. Evans’ private medical clinic in the downtown district.
Daniel stepped out first, opening a large umbrella, and then reached in to help Ava into her wheelchair.
She was still weak, the residual effects of the paralytic agent making her limbs heavy, but her mind was entirely sharp now.
The fog had lifted, revealing the steel beneath her gentle nature.
Rosa walked beside them, keeping a protective hand on the back of Ava’s chair.
Arthur led the way, bypassing the front reception area and walking straight down the carpeted hallway to the executive office at the back.
The door was guarded by a tall man in a dark suit who nodded as Daniel approached.
“He’s inside, Mr. Vance. He hasn't made a sound.”
Daniel pushed the door open.
Dr. Evans was sitting behind his massive mahogany desk, his expensive silk tie loosened, his hair disheveled.
A half-packed leather suitcase sat open on the sofa near the window.
When he saw Daniel enter, followed by Ava in the wheelchair, his face turned the color of ash.
“Daniel… Ava…” Evans stammered, standing up so quickly his leather chair rolled back against the wall.
“This is a massive misunderstanding. The security guards outside… this is unlawful confinement! I am a respected medical professional!”
“You were a medical professional,” Daniel said, closing the heavy oak door behind them.
The sound of the latch clicking shut was like a prison door locking.
“Now, you are a co-conspirator in an attempted murder and corporate fraud investigation.”
Evans began to sweat, his eyes darting toward the window, then toward the ledger sheets Arthur placed on the desk in front of him.
“I was treating her for severe emotional trauma!” Evans lied, his voice rising in panic.
“Her symptoms were consistent with a progressive neurological decline! Margaret gave me her medical history!”
Ava rolled her chair forward, stopping directly in front of the desk.
The cowering, terrified girl Evans had seen in the mansion was gone.
She looked up at him, her gaze cutting through his lies like a laser.
“You never examined me, Dr. Evans,” Ava said, her voice steady and ringing with a terrifying clarity.
“You never took my blood. You never asked me where it hurt. You just held my arm down while Margaret’s guards gripped my shoulders. You told me it was a vitamin booster. Then you watched me lose the ability to speak.”
Evans swallowed hard, his throat dry.
“Ava, I… I was told you were suicidal. Margaret said you were trying to ruin the family.”
“My mother paid you six hundred thousand dollars over the last twelve weeks, Evans,” Daniel said, stepping up beside Ava’s chair, his hand resting firmly on her shoulder.
“We have the wire transfers. We have the offshore routing numbers. And right now, a forensic team at St. Jude’s is analyzing the chemical composition of the medicine my mother tried to force down Ava’s throat tonight.”
Daniel leaned down, placing both hands flat on the desk, forcing Evans to look him dead in the eye.
“In exactly ten minutes, the federal authorities will receive a comprehensive file containing everything we have. You will spend the rest of your life in a maximum-security penitentiary. Your license will be revoked by morning. Your family will be left with nothing after the civil lawsuits freeze your assets.”
Evans collapsed back into his chair, his hands shaking so violently he had to hide them beneath the desk.
“Unless,” Arthur chimed in smoothly, stepping forward with a digital voice recorder.
“You provide a full, recorded confession detailed enough to state that Margaret Vance was the sole architect of this plot, and that she coerced you into falsifying the medical records.”
Evans looked at the recorder, then at Daniel’s unforgiving eyes, and finally at Ava.
He knew he was a pawn who had been caught in a war between kings.
And pawns are always sacrificed first.
May you like
“Get the recorder ready,” Evans whispered, his voice broken.
“I’ll tell you everything.”
