Chapter 8 - Daniel’s Secret
Alejandro brought the photograph to Daniel at the hospital.
“Tell me why you were with Gabriel.”
Daniel looked at the screen. “He asked to speak with me outside.”
“About what?”
“He offered me money to say Valeria’s injuries were old.”
Valeria, sitting on the bed behind them, raised her head. “You never told me that.”
“I refused him.”
“Why keep it from me?”
Daniel rubbed his hands together. “Gabriel said Esther had a complaint from my residency at Northside. A patient died after a medication error. I reported it. The clinic claimed I had caused it, but pages were missing from the chart. I wasn’t disciplined, though the accusation followed me.”
“You thought I’d stop trusting you,” Valeria said.
“Yes.”
“You should have let me decide.”
“I should have.”
Daniel apologized without asking her to forgive him.
Alejandro asked the hospital for a copy of its visitor log, then called Tessa Ward, an attorney he trusted outside the family’s circle. By evening, she had seen the petition, the footage, and Valeria’s medical records.
“Esther’s claim is weak,” Tessa said. “But she’s already filed enough to get a hearing.”
“When?”
“Monday.”
Three days away.
Tessa warned that even a failed petition could put damaging claims about Valeria into a public court record. Esther might be counting on them to accept a private settlement to avoid the hearing.
Valeria’s phone buzzed.
A message from Esther filled the screen.
I have the full report about your mother. Sign the agreement, and it stays with me.
Attached was a photograph of Lucia’s car after the crash.
May you like
Alejandro noticed another car at the edge of the image. He enlarged it.
It was an Aranda company vehicle.
