Chapter 5 - WHAT VINCENT WAS ACTUALLY HIDING
Vincent Rossi did not order the shooting.
At least, not according to the evidence that eventually emerged.
That irritated Dominic.
Nora could tell.
He returned from lawyer meeting looking angry in a way she had learned to distinguish from pain.
Shoulders rigid.
Jaw still.
No throwing.
Progress.
She checked his temperature.
Normal.
“Meeting bad?”
He stared.
“Not your department.”
“Excellent.”
She wrote number.
Then he said:
“Vincent was stealing from me.”
Nora looked up.
“That sounds more like your department.”
“He used Meridian to bill fake security contracts through Harbor North.”
“Okay.”
“Four years.”
“Okay.”
“Millions.”
“Okay.”
“You could react.”
“I’m changing dressing.”
He swore softly.
Then:
“He says he discovered Meridian’s field supervisor planned to hit me.”
“Before or after?”
“After.”
“Evidence?”
“He brought emails.”
“Police have?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
There.
Dominic looked at ceiling.
“He ran because he thought I’d kill him over medication and theft.”
Nora paused.
“Would you have?”
Silence.
Not answer.
Then:
“Six months ago?”
“Yes.”
“Now?”
Longer.
“I don’t know.”
Good.
He was not pretending.
Nora continued care.
Dominic said:
“The shooter worked for Meridian supervisor named Owen Pike.”
“Okay.”
“Pike had side deal with one of my competitors.”
“Okay.”
“Vincent says he did not know.”
“Maybe.”
Dominic almost laughed.
Then:
“Pike is dead.”
“You told me.”
“Police think suicide.”
“Do you?”
“No.”
Not her role.
She taped dressing.
“Done.”
Dominic looked at shoulder.
Then:
“The message to you came from Meridian office.”
“Yes.”
“Police arrested technician.”
Nora stopped.
“What technician?”
“One who bought burner.”
This directly concerns her.
“Name?”
“Evan Lyle.”
“Why?”
“Claims he sent on Vincent’s instruction.”
There.
“What does Vincent say?”
“Denies.”
“Evidence?”
“Payment from Vincent side account to Lyle.”
“That sounds bad.”
“Yes.”
“Could be normal payment?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Memo says ‘N.H. relocation.’”
Nora’s stomach dropped.
Relocation.
Threat message:
You should have let him bleed.
“Relocation?”
Dominic’s face hardened.
“Vincent says he wanted you scared enough to quit.”
There.
Not killed.
Removed.
“Why?”
“Because you noticed pills.”
That was enough.
Nora sat.
For first time, hands shook.
Not because message itself.
Because someone had looked at her life and decided fear was management tool.
Dominic saw.
“Nora.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not.”
She almost snapped.
Then stopped.
Same words she had used to patients.
“I’m angry.”
Good.
“What do you want?”
Interesting question.
Not what should I do.
What do you want.
“Police case.”
“Yes.”
“Protective order if appropriate.”
“Yes.”
“Security until threat resolved.”
“Yes.”
“Vincent nowhere near me.”
“Yes.”
“Nothing else.”
Dominic’s jaw tightened.
“I can—”
“No.”
He stopped.
“I know.”
Good.
Vincent was charged? Need careful not instant. Police booked Lyle for stalking/threats; Vincent investigation ongoing. We can say court restraining order; corporate suspension.
Dominic removed Vincent from all Rossi Holdings authority through board process.
No family execution.
Independent audit of Harbor North.
Theft evidence strong.
No criminal conclusion yet.
Good.
Then Nora’s ED interview.
Friday.
She wore only blazer she owned.
Sleeve seam frayed.
She tucked.
Dr. Patel sat panel? She had recommended but not hiring alone.
Nurse manager Thomasina Reed.
HR.
Nora answered.
Why left previous ER?
Hospital downsizing.
Any disciplinary history?
No.
Why gap?
Agency shifts.
Home care.
Skills.
Three years emergency nursing.
Certifications current.
Then:
“Current private-duty assignment?”
Nora hesitated.
“High-profile client.”
No name.
“Conflict with schedule?”
“I can reduce to two home-care shifts if hired.”
Good.
“What did you learn?”
Nora thought.
“That patient refusal and staff safety can exist in same case.”
Manager nodded.
Good.
No mafia story.
At end:
“We have other candidates.”
“Understood.”
No promise.
She left.
Outside, Dominic’s car?
No.
Good.
Her own rusted sedan.
She smiled.
At estate Monday, Dominic’s line site red?
No.
Wound improving.
Antibiotics maybe switched to oral soon after ID follow-up.
Physical therapy started.
Shoulder range limited.
Pain.
Nora encouraged.
He hated.
Therapist named Jamal Foster did not care who Dominic was.
“Lift.”
“No.”
“Then remain stiff forever.”
Dominic lifted.
Nora laughed.
He glared.
“You enjoy suffering.”
“Only yours.”
Jamal said:
“Healthy workplace.”
Good.
After therapy, Dominic exhausted.
Nora brought water.
He drank.
Then:
“What will you do when I don’t need nurse?”
There.
She looked.
“Work.”
“Here?”
“No.”
His expression changed.
Small.
“You’re leaving.”
“That is how recovery works.”
“I could hire you permanent.”
“For what?”
“Medical coordinator.”
Nora stared.
“No.”
“You haven’t heard salary.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because your house is not my career plan.”
Silence.
He looked wounded.
Good.
Not her job to soothe.
“I applied to ER.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Where?”
“Not your business until I know.”
“Did you get?”
“No.”
“Do you want me to—”
“No.”
He stopped.
Faster.
Good.
Nora smiled.
“You’re learning.”
“Painfully.”
Then phone rang.
St. Jude’s.
She stepped into hall.
“Hello.”
Nurse manager.
Offer.
Per diem to start, potential full-time after three months.
Standard rate.
Benefits limited initially.
Still.
Hospital.
Independent.
Nora closed eyes.
“Yes.”
Then remembered.
Ask details.
Start date.
Schedule.
Background check.
Good.
She accepted conditional.
When she returned, Dominic looked.
“What?”
“I got job.”
Something moved across his face.
Pride? Loss?
“Congratulations.”
No offer to beat salary.
Perfect.
“Thank you.”
“When?”
“Two weeks.”
“You’ll still finish contract?”
“Yes.”
“Unless I throw lamp.”
“Yes.”
He looked at lamp beside bed.
“Leo replaced with plastic.”
Nora stared.
He almost smiled.
Then:
“Joke.”
“Bad.”
“Still.”
They laughed.
That afternoon, Detective Ellis came for Nora statement about Vincent.
Dominic left room.
Without being asked.
Good.
Nora gave facts.
No speculation.
Lyle threat.
Medication log.
Vincent’s access.
Old ER encounter.
Ellis asked:
“Did Mr. Rossi ever ask you to withhold information?”
“No.”
That answer surprised Nora.
Early he wanted private handling.
But when actual statement? He had accepted police.
“Did he pressure you to remain employed?”
“He asked. I said no at times. He accepted.”
Good.
“Do you fear him?”
Nora thought.
“Yes.”
Dominic’s name.
History.
Violence.
Power.
Also:
“Less than I did.”
Ellis wrote.
Not romantic.
Fact.
Then:
“Do you trust him?”
Nora smiled faintly.
“That is not binary.”
Detective looked.
“Fair.”
After statement, Nora found Dominic in study.
He stood at window.
Right arm sling.
“What did you say?”
She raised eyebrow.
He corrected.
“Never mind.”
Good.
Then:
“Vincent was arrested.”
Her pulse changed.
“For threat?”
“For witness intimidation, fraud-related charges, unlawful medication interference under state law maybe? Let's phrase allegations.”
Dominic continued.
“Charges tied to threat, Harbor North fraud, and alleged medical interference. More could change.”
Good.
No certainty.
“What does he say?”
“Not guilty.”
“Okay.”
Dominic looked at her.
“You don’t celebrate.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“An arrest is not a lab result.”
He laughed softly.
Then:
“Pike.”
“Dead Meridian supervisor.”
“Yes.”
“Police found he had been selling my travel schedules.”
“Competitor?”
“Yes.”
“Vincent?”
“Apparently not.”
“So shooting was not Vincent.”
“Evidence so far says no.”
“And medication was.”
“Evidence says he ordered off-chart blood-pressure dose and threatened you to remove you after you noticed.”
There.
Separate.
Good.
Nora nodded.
“This is cleaner.”
“What?”
“Truth.”
Dominic stared.
“It doesn’t feel clean.”
“No.”
She looked at him.
“It feels specific.”
That mattered.
Infection from contaminated wound and delayed washout.
Medication manipulation from Vincent.
Shooting from Meridian corruption tied to rival.
Threat from Vincent to silence nurse.
Several bad things.
Not one mastermind.
Real systems fail in layers.
Dominic sat.
“I wanted one enemy.”
“Convenient.”
“Yes.”
Nora said:
“Then you can kill one person and call it solved.”
He looked at her sharply.
She had gone too far?
No.
He said:
“Yes.”
Honest.
“And now?”
“Now I have to fix systems.”
Nora smiled.
“That sounds terrible.”
“It is.”
Good.
The King of his world hated paperwork.
Maybe that was exactly what he needed.
For once, the most dangerous work in his house was not done with a weapon. It was done with signatures, logs, and people finally willing to contradict him on paper.
The independent audit made the point even harder.
Harbor North was not one criminal scheme with one mastermind.
It was procurement approvals.
Security invoices.
Delegated signatures.
People who stopped asking because Vincent was family.
Dominic read the preliminary report at kitchen table while Nora ate yogurt between wound checks.
He pushed one page toward her.
She did not touch.
“What?”
“Look.”
“No.”
“Nora.”
“You are trying to turn me into compliance consultant.”
He frowned.
“I’m trying to show you.”
“Then summarize.”
He looked offended by being forced to use words.
“Three managers approved Meridian invoices without verifying headcount.”
“Why?”
“Vincent signed.”
“And?”
“They trusted him.”
There.
“Same architecture.”
Dominic stared.
“Everyone keeps using that word now.”
“Because architecture determines where people can move.”
He looked at report.
Then:
“I signed two renewals.”
“Did you read?”
“No.”
“Then put your name in report.”
His eyes sharpened.
“It is.”
Good.
Not scapegoat cousin.
Dominic continued:
“I ordered external review of every vendor tied to family member.”
“Good.”
“No family exception.”
“Good.”
“Employee safety hotline outside executive chain.”
“Good.”
He glared.
“You could say excellent once.”
“No.”
He laughed.
Then his face tightened from shoulder movement.
Nora pointed.
“Do your exercises.”
He groaned.
May you like
The King of his world hated paperwork.
Maybe that was exactly what he needed.
