Chapter 6 - The Doctor’s Name
Every head turned toward Dr. Harris.
He froze beside Sophia’s wheelchair.
“What?”
Charles held up the phone.
“The transfer destination is registered to Harris Biomedical Consulting.”
Dr. Harris stared.
“I have no company by that name.”
Dominic smiled.
Vincent stepped toward the doctor.
Dr. Harris raised both hands.
“I have never heard of it.”
“Your name is on the account.”
“My name is Daniel Harris. Do you have any idea how many Daniel Harrises exist?”
Charles looked at the details.
“Same birth date.”
The doctor stopped.
Vincent’s expression changed.
Dr. Harris stared at Charles.
“That’s impossible.”
Sophia whispered, “No.”
Everyone looked at her.
She looked at Dr. Harris.
“You treated me.”
His face went pale.
“At Glenwood?”
“Before Glenwood.”
“I’ve never worked there.”
“Not there.”
Her voice shook.
“Saint Catherine’s.”
Dr. Harris stared.
“That hospital closed seven years ago.”
“I know.”
Vincent moved closer.
“Were you there?”
Dr. Harris hesitated.
“Yes.”
Sophia closed her eyes.
Vincent’s jaw tightened.
“You knew her.”
“No.”
“You just admitted—”
“I worked emergency medicine there until it closed. That doesn’t mean I treated Sophia.”
Sophia looked at him.
“You gave me water.”
The doctor stopped.
“You said you were sorry.”
His face changed.
Not guilt.
Recognition.
“Oh my God.”
Vincent grabbed his jacket.
“You remember.”
Dr. Harris did not resist.
“I remember a woman.”
Sophia stared at him.
“Me.”
“They brought you in under another name.”
“What name?”
“Sarah Bell.”
Charles looked at Bellamy.
Charles immediately shook his head.
“Not mine.”
Dr. Harris continued.
“You were sedated. Two men claimed you were experiencing severe psychosis.”
“Who?”
“I didn’t know.”
“Anthony?”
“I had never met Anthony Moretti.”
Sophia said, “You helped them.”
Dr. Harris looked sick.
“I signed a transfer.”
Vincent’s grip tightened.
“To where?”
“A private psychiatric facility.”
“You sent my wife away.”
“I was told she was dangerous to herself.”
Sophia’s voice hardened.
“I told you they kidnapped me.”
Dr. Harris looked at her.
“Yes.”
Everyone went silent.
He closed his eyes.
“You told me your name was Sophia Moretti.”
Vincent released him slowly.
“And you still signed?”
“I checked the file.”
“The fake file.”
“Yes.”
“You believed it over her.”
Dr. Harris’s eyes filled.
“Yes.”
Sophia looked away.
No one needed to say anything else.
That was how conspiracies survived.
Not because every person involved was evil.
Because enough people chose convenience over doubt.
Dr. Harris sat down.
“I never knew what happened after that night.”
“Then why is your identity on Anthony’s account?” Charles asked.
Dr. Harris shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
Marco stepped closer.
“Identity theft.”
Everyone looked at him.
“Anthony used medical professionals before,” Marco said. “Doctors. Administrators. Accountants. People whose information he could access.”
Vincent looked at Dr. Harris.
“Did anyone steal records from Saint Catherine’s before it closed?”
The doctor frowned.
“Yes.”
“When?”
“The final week.”
“Who?”
“No one knew.”
Charles looked at the transfer details.
“If Anthony built Harris Biomedical using stolen credentials, we can challenge ownership.”
“Can we stop the transfer?”
“Maybe.”
Vincent checked the time.
11:52.
Eight minutes.
Dominic leaned against the wall.
“You’re all very optimistic.”
Vincent looked at him.
“You know the access code.”
Dominic smiled.
“No.”
“You designed the transfer.”
“I designed part of it.”
“What stops it?”
“Anthony.”
Vincent stepped closer.
“And where is he?”
Dominic looked toward the elevator.
“Downstairs.”
Marco frowned.
“You said you didn’t know.”
“I lied.”
Vincent almost laughed.
“At least you’re consistent.”
Dominic’s expression hardened.
“He’s in the old surgical wing.”
Dr. Harris looked up.
“That floor is closed.”
“Exactly.”
Vincent turned toward Marco.
“You’re with me.”
Sophia shook her head.
“No.”
Vincent looked at her.
“I’m ending this.”
“By walking exactly where Anthony told you to?”
“Yes.”
“That’s not ending it. That’s obeying him.”
Vincent crouched beside her.
“What do you want me to do?”
Sophia looked toward Emily.
Then at the phone.
“Use what he doesn’t know we have.”
“The recordings?”
“No.”
She looked at me.
“The ledger.”
I stared.
“It disappeared.”
Sophia shook her head.
“No.”
“What?”
“The envelope I gave you wasn’t the ledger.”
My mouth went dry.
“What was it?”
“A decoy.”
Vincent stared at her.
“Where is the real one?”
She looked at me.
“In Claire’s apartment.”
I laughed once from shock.
“That’s impossible.”
“You had a red recipe book.”
I froze.
My mother’s old recipe binder.
Sophia had borrowed it once before Christmas.
“You put it there?”
“I photographed the ledger pages and slipped them behind the recipes.”
I stared at her.
“For three years?”
She nodded.
The proof had been in my kitchen.
Three feet from the coffee maker.
I almost laughed.
Almost cried.
Vincent turned toward one of his guards.
“Get it.”
I gave him my address and told him where to look.
Charles checked the clock.
11:54.
Six minutes.
Vincent said, “Even if we have the ledger, transfer still happens.”
Sophia looked at Dominic.
“He can stop it.”
Dominic smiled.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“You created a dead-man cancellation code.”
His smile disappeared.
Charles looked at him.
“What?”
Sophia continued.
“You told Anthony you needed protection if he betrayed you.”
Dominic stared at her.
“You remember that?”
“I remember more every minute.”
Vincent stepped closer.
“Code.”
Dominic shook his head.
“No.”
Vincent did not threaten him.
He simply said:
“Anthony will kill you when he has control.”
Dominic laughed.
“He needs me.”
“No,” Sophia said. “He needed your signature access.”
Dominic looked at her.
“He has it now.”
She nodded.
“You’re finished.”
Dominic’s face changed.
For the first time, he understood.
Anthony had never intended to share anything.
Vincent held out Charles’s phone.
“Code.”
Dominic stared at the transfer screen.
11:55.
Five minutes.
He whispered, “M47-Helix-Zero.”
Charles typed.
A prompt appeared.
SECONDARY AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED.
“Whose?” Vincent asked.
Dominic looked at Sophia.
“Hers.”
Everyone froze.
Sophia stared.
“Mine?”
Dominic nodded.
“Anthony made you contingency trustee years ago.”
Charles looked shocked.
“Before she disappeared?”
“Yes.”
Vincent looked at Sophia.
“Do you know the code?”
She shook her head.
Dominic said, “You chose it.”
“I don’t remember.”
“Think.”
She closed her eyes.
11:56.
Four minutes.
Dr. Harris checked her monitor.
“Her heart rate is too high.”
Sophia whispered numbers.
Dates.
Anniversary.
Vincent’s birthday.
Her mother’s birthday.
Nothing.
Emily stepped closer.
“What does a code need?”
Dominic looked at her.
“Six digits.”
Emily looked at Sophia.
“What was the most important day?”
Sophia looked at Vincent.
Their wedding date.
They tried it.
ACCESS DENIED.
11:57.
Three minutes.
Sophia began crying.
“I don’t remember.”
Vincent took her hand.
“It’s okay.”
“No.”
“It’s okay.”
“We’ll lose Helix.”
“We’ll rebuild.”
“But the children—”
“We’ll rebuild.”
Emily stared at the phone in Vincent’s hand.
Then at Sophia.
“When did you know the medicine worked?”
Sophia looked at her.
“What?”
“The medicine that helps kids.”
Sophia’s eyes changed.
“The first trial.”
“What day?”
Sophia closed her eyes.
Then whispered:
“March 9.”
Vincent typed 0309—
Dominic shook his head.
“Six digits.”
Sophia whispered, “2019.”
Charles typed:
The screen paused.
Then turned green.
TRANSFER CANCELLATION ACCEPTED.
Everyone exhaled.
11:58.
Vincent looked at Sophia.
She smiled for the first time.
Tiny.
Exhausted.
Real.
Then the hospital intercom crackled.
A male voice filled the corridor.
Anthony.
“Well done.”
Vincent looked up.
Anthony continued.
“But you still misunderstand.”
The old man sounded almost amused.
“Helix was never downstairs.”
A pause.
“It was in Sophia.”
Dr. Harris stared at her monitor.
May you like
Sophia’s face went white.
And then the heart monitor began screaming.
