Chapter 5 - THE WOMAN IN THE HOSPITAL ROOMI have experienced fear before.
I've stood on construction sites while storms tore scaffolding from buildings.
I've watched investments collapse.
I've received phone calls in the middle of the night that made me question whether my company would survive another week.
But nothing compared to the terror I felt looking at that photograph.
Daniela was asleep.
A stranger stood beside her bed.
And Patricia wanted me to know.
I called the hospital immediately.
“St. Catherine's Medical Center. How may I direct your call?”
“My daughter is a patient. Daniela Morales, room 417. Someone may be threatening her. I need hospital security right now.”
The receptionist hesitated.
“Sir, are you her father?”
“Yes! Javier Morales!”
“One moment, please.”
I turned toward Thomas.
“Someone's in Daniela's room.”
His face hardened.
“Call Detective Ruiz.”
I did.
She answered almost immediately.
“Mr. Morales?”
“My wife sent me a photograph. Someone is standing over my daughter in the hospital.”
“Is your daughter conscious?”
“I don't know.”
“Where are you?”
“Outside a diner in Mesa. My company's attorney just arrived here with Raymond Vale.”
There was a pause.
“Mr. Morales, I need you to stay inside the diner. Officers are being dispatched to the hospital. I've also requested a local unit for your location.”
I looked toward the front window.
Robert Mercer was approaching the entrance.
“He's coming inside.”
“Do not confront him.”
The call disconnected.
Thomas took the USB drive back from me.
“What are you doing?” I demanded.
“Making sure you don't lose the evidence.”
He slipped it into an inside pocket.
Then Mercer entered.
He looked exactly as he had during hundreds of business meetings.
Expensive gray suit.
Silver-framed glasses.
Polished shoes.
The same reassuring smile.
“Javier,” he said warmly. “Thank goodness I found you.”
I stared at him.
“Why are you here?”
He looked surprised.
“Patricia called. She said you were having some kind of emotional crisis.”
Thomas stood.
Mercer's smile vanished.
“Thomas Reed.”
“Robert.”
They stared at one another.
Mercer turned back to me.
“Javier, this man has been harassing your family for years.”
“Has he?”
“He's obsessed with Michael's accident.”
I stepped closer.
“Tell me something, Robert.”
“Of course.”
“Why did Raymond Vale visit my house this morning?”
Mercer's face barely changed.
But he blinked.
Once.
Too slowly.
“I don't know who that is.”
“Patricia's brother.”
“Her brother is deceased.”
“Apparently, he recovered.”
Mercer looked toward Thomas.
“Whatever this man has told you—”
“I saw Raymond on my security camera.”
Silence.
Thomas folded his arms.
Mercer removed his glasses.
“Javier, we should discuss this privately.”
“Then explain the eleven million dollars.”
He stopped.
“What?”
“Desert Crown Advisory. The transfers. Silver Basin Holdings.”
Mercer's expression flattened.
“You've been looking at confidential company records.”
“It's my company.”
“It's a corporation with legal obligations. You can't simply start throwing accusations around.”
I moved closer.
“Did you help Patricia steal from me?”
He stared at me.
Then he gave a tired sigh.
“Your wife has done more to protect that company than you'll ever understand.”
It was the wrong answer.
For the first time, I understood that Mercer's loyalty had never belonged to me.
Thomas stepped between us.
“This conversation is over.”
Mercer glanced at him.
“Careful, Thomas. You already lost one client.”
My fists clenched.
Thomas didn't move.
“Leave.”
Mercer smiled coldly.
“Javier, call Patricia before you make things worse.”
He turned and walked out.
Through the window, I watched him return to the SUV.
Raymond was sitting in the passenger seat.
The vehicle pulled away.
I immediately called the hospital again.
A security supervisor answered.
“Mr. Morales, your daughter is safe.”
I gripped the phone.
“Are you certain?”
“Yes. A nurse discovered an unauthorized visitor in her room. The visitor left when questioned. We've restricted access, and police are on their way.”
“Who was it?”
“A woman who claimed to be Daniela's aunt.”
I froze.
Daniela didn't have an aunt on Patricia's side.
“Can you describe her?”
“Middle-aged. Blonde hair. Blue medical scrubs. She wasn't wearing hospital identification.”
My thoughts raced.
“Was Patricia there?”
The supervisor hesitated.
“Your wife was in the hallway shortly before the visitor entered.”
Of course she was.
I ended the call.
Then I turned toward Thomas.
“I'm going back.”
He nodded.
“I'll follow you.”
“No. Take the USB to Detective Ruiz.”
Thomas considered it.
Then he agreed.
“Don't go home tonight.”
“I won't.”
“Promise me.”
I looked at him.
“I already promised my daughter I'd protect her. I'm not going to break that promise.”
I drove back toward Phoenix.
During the forty-minute journey, Patricia called seven times.
I didn't answer.
Then she began sending messages.
Javier, we need to talk.
You're misunderstanding everything.
Daniela has manipulated you.
Please don't destroy our family over a few accounting errors.
The last message arrived as I turned into the hospital parking garage.
If you involve the police, you'll regret it.
I forwarded everything to Detective Ruiz.
When I reached Daniela's room, two uniformed officers stood outside.
One checked my identification before allowing me inside.
Daniela was awake.
Her face brightened when she saw me.
“Dad!”
I crossed the room and hugged her carefully.
“I've got you.”
She clung to my shirt.
“I was so scared.”
“What happened?”
“A woman came into my room and said Mom sent her.”
“What did she want?”
“She told me I needed to sign a statement saying I fell because I was drunk.”
My stomach twisted.
“Did you sign anything?”
“No.”
“What happened next?”
“She said if I didn't cooperate, the company would collapse and hundreds of families would lose their jobs.”
I closed my eyes.
Patricia had used the same threat before.
“Then she tried to take my phone,” Daniela continued. “But a nurse came in.”
“Did she hurt you?”
“No.”
I held her hand.
“She's not coming back.”
Daniela looked uncertain.
“How can you promise that?”
“Because I've told the police everything. And they're taking this seriously.”
Her eyes filled.
“Dad, Mom is going to hate me.”
I sat on the edge of her bed.
“Listen to me carefully.”
She nodded.
“Your mother is responsible for her choices. You are not responsible for protecting her from the consequences.”
Daniela began crying.
I hugged her again.
For several minutes, neither of us spoke.
Then she pulled away.
“Did you meet Thomas?”
“Yes.”
“Did he show you the insurance policy?”
I nodded.
She looked down.
“There's something else.”
My heart sank.
“What?”
“Mom took out a policy on me too.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“A few months after my eighteenth birthday.”
“That's not possible without your consent.”
“She forged my signature.”
I felt the room tilt.
“How much?”
“Three million dollars.”
I couldn't speak.
Daniela continued quietly.
“I found the application in an email archive. Mom was listed as the primary beneficiary.”
The horror settled over me slowly.
My daughter had been injured.
My wife had refused medical help.
She had searched Daniela's belongings instead of calling an ambulance.
And she had a financial interest in our daughter's death.
I didn't want to believe Patricia could be capable of something so monstrous.
But the facts were becoming impossible to ignore.
I stepped into the hallway and called Sarah Bennett.
She answered immediately.
“I've been waiting for your call.”
“Sarah, there's another insurance policy.”
“I know.”
I froze.
“What?”
“I've been reviewing the information Thomas Reed provided.”
“You've spoken to him?”
“He called after leaving the diner.”
I gripped the phone.
“What did you find?”
“Javier, you need to sit down.”
I leaned against the wall.
“Just tell me.”
“Silver Basin Holdings was incorporated using documents that list you as its sole managing member.”
“That can't be right.”
“It isn't. Your signature appears on the filings, but several dates don't match your travel records.”
“Forgery.”
“Possibly. There's more.”
I closed my eyes.
“Of course there is.”
“According to the documents, Silver Basin has been assigned certain rights to your company's assets.”
I opened my eyes.
“What assets?”
“Equipment leases, real estate interests, and several large receivables.”
I felt my stomach twist.
“How much are we talking about?”
“Potentially most of the company's valuable property.”
I stared at the hospital floor.
For twenty years, I had built that company.
We employed more than four hundred people.
Families depended on those paychecks.
And Patricia was trying to take everything.
“What do we do?”
“I'm assembling a forensic accounting team. We need an emergency court order to prevent transfers. I've already contacted outside litigation counsel.”
“Can you stop them?”
“We have a strong basis to seek relief, but I won't promise an outcome before a judge reviews the evidence.”
I appreciated her honesty.
It was something I hadn't heard much of lately.
Sarah continued.
“There's another issue. Robert Mercer resigned from your company's legal representation by email approximately twenty minutes ago.”
I stared at the wall.
“He resigned?”
“Yes. He claims a conflict of interest.”
“After helping steal millions?”
“His resignation doesn't erase anything he may have done. Preserve every communication.”
I nodded, though she couldn't see me.
Then I heard something behind me.
Footsteps.
I turned.
Patricia stood at the far end of the hallway.
She was no longer wearing the burgundy dress.
She had changed into jeans and a cream-colored sweater.
Her makeup was minimal.
Her eyes were red.
She looked like a devastated mother.
For a second, I remembered the woman I married.
Then I remembered the camera.
Patricia approached slowly.
“Javier.”
I ended the call.
“Leave.”
She stopped.
“Please. Let me explain.”
“There is nothing you can say to make what happened acceptable.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
“I made a terrible mistake.”
“You left Daniela unconscious on the floor.”
“I panicked.”
“You searched her purse.”
She flinched.
“You don't understand.”
“You brought Raymond into our house.”
Patricia lowered her voice.
“Javier, everything I did was to protect us.”
“From what?”
She looked around.
Then she said:
“From the people who really control your company.”
I stared at her.
“You expect me to believe that?”
She stepped closer.
“Raymond isn't acting alone.”
“Neither are you.”
“Please listen.”
“No.”
She grabbed my sleeve.
“Javier, if you go to the police with those recordings, people will die.”
I pulled away.
“Who?”
Her eyes filled with terror.
“People you love.”
I stared at her.
“Are you threatening Daniela?”
Patricia shook her head frantically.
“No! I'm trying to warn you!”
Before I could respond, Detective Ruiz appeared behind her.
“Mrs. Morales?”
Patricia turned.
The detective held up her badge.
“I'd like to ask you some questions.”
For a moment, Patricia looked trapped.
Then she did something unexpected.
She reached into her purse.
Pulled out a folded photograph.
And pressed it into my hand.
“Ask your father why he never told you about this.”
I looked down.
The photograph showed three men standing beside a construction truck.
One was Michael Hart.
One was Raymond Vale.
The third was my father, who had died twenty-five years earlier.
On the back, in handwriting I recognized, were the words:
THE FIRST TIME THEY STOLE FROM US — 1997.
I looked up.
May you like
Patricia was already walking toward the elevator with Detective Ruiz.
And suddenly I realized this conspiracy might have begun long before I ever met my wife.
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