Chapter 2 - THE SIGNATURE HE NEVER GAVE
At 2:26 a.m., Dominic Romano learned that being a powerful man meant nothing if he didn't know who was making decisions for his own father.
Rebecca Sloan met him at the hospital carrying a laptop and an expression that announced she had already found something unpleasant. She was fifty-two, sharp-eyed, and one of the few people in Dominic's world who never softened bad news to preserve his pride.
"The document might be a mistake," she said, "but we need to verify it."
"What document?"
"A healthcare authorization filed with the hospital intake system. It names Vanessa as Antonio's primary representative if he loses decision-making capacity."
Dominic stopped walking. "I never agreed to that."
"You wouldn't necessarily need to. The authority is supposed to come from Antonio."
"He would have told me."
"Maybe. But we check the signature before we accuse anyone of forging it."
They entered a quiet consultation room. Rebecca opened a copy supplied by hospital administration. The form carried Antonio's name, a date six weeks earlier, and the signature of an outside notary. It also included a page describing restrictions on the release of medical information to other family members.
"Six weeks ago," Dominic repeated. "That's when Vanessa started arranging all his appointments."
Rebecca nodded. "And the notary is someone I don't recognize."
"Is that unusual?"
"Not illegal. But the witness address is the office of a holding company used by your family foundation."
Dominic stared at her. "Vanessa handles the foundation."
"She serves on an advisory committee. Your father still controls the accounts."
"Unless he can't make decisions."
Rebecca said nothing.
The implication was obvious and ugly, but Dominic forced himself to slow down. His father had every right to choose a representative, even one Dominic disliked. What mattered was whether Antonio had understood the document and signed it voluntarily.
At the nurses' station, Emily sat in a plastic chair holding a paper cup of water. She wore borrowed slippers and the same wrinkled uniform. Her hair had slipped loose from its clip. She looked as if she might fall asleep sitting upright.
Dominic approached quietly. "Emily."
She stood immediately. "Sir."
"Please sit."
"I'm sorry I left without asking about the breakfast rooms."
He stared at her. "My father is in the hospital, and you're worried about breakfast?"
Her cheeks reddened. "Mrs. Bell said there are guests arriving tomorrow. I didn't want anyone to think I'd abandoned my duties."
"You're not in trouble."
Emily looked at him with such open disbelief that the words sounded foolish.
"I'll make that clear in writing," he said.
She nodded, then glanced toward Antonio's room. "He woke up once. He asked whether someone was angry with him."
Dominic felt a sharp ache behind his ribs.
"What did you tell him?"
"That he was safe and the doctors were helping. He asked if I could stay until morning."
"You can, if you want to. But you need rest too."
Emily looked down at her hands. "I can rest later."
"No. You've already spent nineteen nights proving you care. You don't owe anyone a twentieth."
For the first time, she met his eyes without immediately lowering hers.
"What if he wakes frightened?"
"I'll be here," Dominic said. "And the nurses will be here. We can take turns."
She swallowed and nodded.
Rebecca introduced herself and asked Emily whether she would be willing to provide copies of her notebook. Emily hesitated until the attorney explained that no one would take the original without her permission and that the notes would be used to help establish the timeline, not to blame her for medical decisions.
"I wrote down what happened because I was worried," Emily said. "I don't know if the pills caused anything."
"That's exactly the distinction we need," Rebecca replied. "You observed symptoms and recorded the timing. Clinicians will determine what the medicine means."
Emily seemed relieved.
The attorney made photographs of the pages with Emily's consent and arranged for the hospital team to receive the relevant entries. The attending physician was reviewing Antonio's current medication history, symptoms, and pharmacy records. He had not yet established why Antonio had struggled to breathe, and he cautioned Dominic against treating the suspected unauthorized prescription as proof of a deliberate act.
Dominic understood intellectually. Emotionally, he was still seeing Vanessa kick the blanket away from the only person who had stayed beside his father.
When Antonio woke, Dominic entered alone.
His father looked impossibly small beneath the white hospital sheet. He had been a broad man once, with a booming laugh and a habit of walking into rooms as though he owned the floor beneath them. Now his hands trembled when he reached for a glass of water.
"Emily?" Antonio whispered.
"She's outside. Resting."
Antonio relaxed. "Good girl."
Dominic sat down. "Dad, I need to ask about a document. Did you choose Vanessa to speak for you about medical treatment?"
Antonio frowned. "No."
"Did you sign papers with a notary?"
"Vanessa brought something. Said it was to fix an insurance problem." He struggled to remember. "I told her to show you."
"Did she?"
"I don't know."
Dominic felt a cold weight settle in his chest. Antonio's answer did not prove forgery; it raised a question about whether he understood what he had signed. Dominic decided not to press while his father was ill.
"We'll sort it out when you're stronger."
Antonio caught his sleeve. "Don't let them send Emily away."
"I won't punish her for helping you."
His father searched his face. "You promise?"
"I promise."
Back in the corridor, Rebecca had more news. The pharmacy named on the receipt Emily had hidden in the blanket confirmed that a purchase had been made on the date shown, but would release detailed records only through appropriate medical or legal channels. The notary's professional registration was valid, yet the office number on the authorization form was disconnected.
"And Daniel?" Dominic asked.
"Still missing. The vehicle he signed out was found in a parking garage near Queens. No evidence yet of what he was doing there."
Dominic rubbed his temples. "He knew I was coming home early."
"How?"
"I told only him and my driver."
Rebecca looked up. "Then we'll interview both. Don't assume Daniel was working with Vanessa just because his name appears in Emily's notebook."
"She heard Vanessa tell him to replace the bottle."
"She wrote that she heard it. We need to ask exactly what she saw and heard."
Dominic nodded. He needed someone willing to stop him from turning suspicion into certainty.
By dawn, a security audit revealed that two hallway cameras had been deliberately disconnected from their recording server. The change had been made with an administrator login assigned to Daniel. It was another fact pointing toward him, though the auditor warned that shared credentials could have been used by someone else.
Dominic returned briefly to the estate to speak with Mrs. Bell. The housekeeper was waiting in the kitchen, eyes swollen from crying.
"I should have told you Antonio needed more help," she said.
"Yes," Dominic answered gently. "You should have."
She flinched.
"But the staff also should have been able to report concerns without fearing Vanessa or Daniel. I made it too easy for them to speak in my name."
Mrs. Bell looked surprised.
"I want a record of every complaint, every changed schedule, and every instruction given to Emily. Nobody is to alter or destroy anything. And no one is being punished for telling the truth."
Mrs. Bell nodded.
Then she handed him an envelope found beneath Antonio's desk.
Inside was a typed notice announcing that the older man would move to a private residential facility the following week. The notice claimed the transfer had been approved by Vanessa, acting under the medical authorization.
"Did my father agree to this?" Dominic asked.
"He said he didn't want to leave," Mrs. Bell replied. "Vanessa told us his memory wasn't reliable."
Dominic read the facility's name.
It belonged to a company that had recently offered to purchase a portion of Romano family property.
He called Rebecca immediately.
Before she answered, another call came through.
Daniel.
Dominic stepped into an empty pantry and accepted it.
"Where are you?"
Daniel sounded breathless. "Somewhere they can't hear me."
"Who?"
"Vanessa. And a man from the foundation. Listen carefully, boss. I wasn't replacing the bottle to hide what was inside."
Dominic held his breath.
"Then what were you doing?"
"Trying to keep the second one from being delivered."
"What second one?"
Daniel was silent for a moment.
"The bottle meant for you."
May you like
As he left the hospital conference room, Dominic passed a display of thank-you cards written by patients' families. Most were addressed to nurses who had remembered a favorite song or stayed an extra few minutes during a difficult night. He thought about how easily money purchased impressive rooms and elaborate equipment, and how poorly it purchased reassurance. His father had never asked for a larger house or more expensive furniture. He had wanted someone to answer when he called. Dominic promised himself that whatever the investigation revealed, Antonio's future care would not depend on a frightened employee breaking the rules to do what was right.
Then the line went dead.
