Chapter 15: The Hospital Director Was Involved

Liam's POV

I stared at the signature until the letters blurred together.

Dr. Marcus Hale.

The director of City Hospital.

The same hospital where Andy had been taken.

The same hospital where Gwen had ordered his blood to be drawn.

And the same hospital that had declared my son dead.

My lawyer looked at me carefully.

"Do you recognize him?"

"I've seen him before."

I remembered the night of the accident.

A man in a dark suit had walked past me while Andy was being rushed into surgery.

I'd assumed he was another doctor.

Now I realized he had stopped beside Gwen for several minutes before disappearing into the surgical wing.

"I want his records," I said.

"We're already requesting them."

The investigator shook his head.

"There's something else. Dr. Hale personally approved the emergency blood transfer."

My stomach tightened.

"Personally?"

"Yes. His authorization appears on every document connected to Andy's blood."

I slowly closed my eyes.

This had never been a simple mistake.

Too many people had known.

Too many people had signed.

Too many people had benefited.

...

Third-Person POV

Gwen sat alone in the interrogation room.

The confidence she once carried was gone.

An investigator entered and placed several photographs in front of her.

"Do you recognize this man?"

Gwen stared at the first photograph.

Dr. Hale.

"Yes."

"How long have you known him?"

"A few years."

"And did you discuss Andy Morrison's blood with him before the accident?"

Gwen looked away.

"Yes."

"How many times?"

She didn't answer.

The investigator slid another document across the table.

"We found twenty-three messages between you and Dr. Hale."

Gwen's hands began to tremble.

"I didn't know this would happen."

"You knew your son was being prepared as a donor."

"I thought it was temporary."

"You thought taking blood from a four-year-old without his father's knowledge was temporary?"

Gwen's eyes filled with tears.

"I wanted to save Pierce."

"And what about Andy?"

She lowered her head.

"I thought he'd be okay."

The investigator leaned forward.

"That's what you've said every time we've asked you. But your son wasn't okay."

Gwen covered her face.

"I didn't know he would die."

"But you knew there was a risk."

She remained silent.

The investigator stood up.

"There's one more thing you should know."

Gwen looked up.

"Liam has the complete recording from Pierce's phone."

Her face turned white.

"No..."

"Yes."

The investigator gathered the documents.

"And Dr. Hale has disappeared."

Gwen's breathing stopped.

For the first time, she understood that someone else was running from the truth too.

...

Liam's POV

That afternoon, I went back to the cemetery.

Andy still didn't have a headstone.

I sat beside his temporary grave marker and placed a small toy car in front of it.

"You always wanted a red one, remember?"

My voice broke.

"Dad finally got it for you."

The wind moved through the trees.

For a moment, I could almost hear Andy laughing.

Then my phone rang.

It was my lawyer.

"Liam, we found Dr. Hale."

I stood up immediately.

"Where is he?"

"He tried to leave the country. Border authorities detained him before he could board his flight."

I let out a slow breath.

"Does he know we have the evidence?"

"He does now."

"Then I want to talk to him."

"Liam, you need to be careful."

"I'm not going there to hurt him."

I looked at Andy's photograph.

"I just want him to tell me why."

...

An hour later, I sat across from Dr. Hale in a secure interview room.

He looked nothing like the confident hospital director I'd seen before.

He looked old.

Tired.

Afraid.

"You knew about Andy's blood before the accident," I said.

He lowered his eyes.

"Yes."

"You signed the authorization."

"Yes."

"You knew Gwen intended to use my son to save Pierce."

His voice was barely audible.

"Yes."

My hands shook.

"Then tell me the truth. Why was Andy targeted?"

Dr. Hale stared at me for several seconds.

"Because Pierce wasn't the real reason."

I froze.

"What do you mean?"

He swallowed hard.

"Pierce needed the blood, but someone else was paying for the entire procedure."

"Who?"

Dr. Hale looked directly into my eyes.

"Your wife's father."

My heart stopped.

Gwen's father had been dead for six years.

Yet Dr. Hale had just claimed he was the person funding the operation.

There was only one explanation.

Someone had been using his name.

And whoever that person was had been planning this long before Andy's accident.