Chapter 8 - THE MASTER LOG
Dominic wanted Hannah to remain at Rosewood.
He did not order her this time.
He asked.
She still said no.
“Eric’s carrying evidence that includes my mother, the residents, and me.”
Dominic nodded.
“Then you stay beside me.”
They drove to Lakeshore with Vanessa and two security vehicles.
Before leaving, Hannah placed her moon necklace in Evelyn’s hand.
“Keep this.”
Evelyn closed her fingers around it.
“You carried it once.”
“And now I know you’re coming back.”
Her mother’s eyes filled.
For eighteen years, neither had been able to make promises.
Now Hannah did.
At Lakeshore, the abandoned clinic was lit.
Eric stood inside with the silver case.
Santoro faced him across an examination room.
No dramatic army surrounded them.
Just two men and twenty-one years of lies.
Santoro looked almost ordinary.
That disturbed Hannah more than anything.
He smiled at Dominic.
“Finally.”
Dominic’s voice remained calm.
“Step away from Eric.”
Eric laughed bitterly.
“Still giving orders.”
Vanessa stepped forward.
“Eric, listen to me.”
“I listened to you for six years.”
His grief broke through his anger.
“My sister died and your family sent flowers.”
Dominic absorbed the words.
“I didn’t know.”
“That’s convenient.”
“It’s true.”
Santoro spoke gently.
“They always say that, Eric.”
Hannah understood his talent.
He didn’t create pain.
He found pain and gave it a target.
“Ask him why he needs the case,” Hannah said.
Eric looked at her.
“What?”
“If he wants justice for Rachel, why does he need the only current master log?”
Santoro’s expression barely changed.
Hannah continued.
“That log proves what happened to your sister.”
Eric looked at Santoro.
“He said he’d release everything.”
“Then give us five minutes to photograph it.”
Santoro answered immediately.
“No.”
Eric’s eyes narrowed.
That single word did more than any speech.
Hannah stepped closer.
“Justice survives copies.”
Silence.
“Cover-ups don’t.”
Eric looked down at the case.
Santoro’s composure finally cracked.
“Don’t be stupid.”
Eric gave a broken laugh.
“That sounds exactly like something Vanessa would say.”
Vanessa swallowed.
“Yes.”
Everyone looked at her.
“I said it constantly.”
She stepped closer.
“I treated you like an employee when you were grieving. I used your loyalty because I needed help. I’m sorry.”
Eric stared at her.
Vanessa did not ask for forgiveness.
She simply stood there and took responsibility.
That mattered.
Eric pushed the case toward Hannah.
Santoro moved.
Dominic blocked him.
No gunfire.
No grand fight.
Just Dominic standing between Santoro and the evidence.
“You’re finished, Michael.”
Santoro smiled.
“Are you sure?”
He pointed toward the master log.
“Open the last page.”
Hannah did.
Her stomach dropped.
At the bottom was an authorization for the current Rosewood trial.
Electronic approval:
DOMINIC ROMANO.
Vanessa whispered, “No.”
Santoro smiled.
“There’s your sponsor.”
Dominic stared at his own name.
Hannah looked closer.
Timestamp.
Two years earlier.
She turned to Dominic.
“Where were you March fourteenth?”
“I don’t remember.”
Vanessa did.
“You were in Italy.”
Dominic looked at her.
“For Dad’s memorial.”
“You didn’t have access to the company network.”
Santoro shrugged.
“Prove it.”
Hannah kept reading.
The electronic approval required a biometric confirmation.
Dominic’s fingerprint.
That seemed impossible.
Then Dominic remembered.
Santoro had persuaded him to sign several foundation documents before leaving for Italy.
Using a biometric tablet.
“You harvested my signature.”
“And your print.”
Santoro’s smile returned.
“You can explain that in court.”
Dominic nodded.
“I will.”
The answer surprised him.
For years Santoro had controlled the Romano family through fear of scandal.
Dominic was no longer afraid of looking imperfect.
His father had made mistakes.
Vanessa had made mistakes.
Teresa had made mistakes.
So had he.
Truth did not require them to be spotless.
Only truthful.
Sirens approached outside.
Santoro looked toward the window.
For the first time, he seemed uncertain.
Eric frowned.
“You called the police?”
“No,” Dominic said.
Hannah had.
Not local officers connected to Romano businesses.
State investigators already headed to Rosewood for the scheduled inspection.
Hannah had asked Rosewood’s independent physician to redirect them to Lakeshore with the evidence already photographed and preserved.
Santoro looked at her.
“You think this ends because you called inspectors?”
“No.”
She opened the case.
“It ends because sixty-seven people are still alive to tell them what happened.”
Santoro’s expression changed.
That was what he had underestimated.
He had treated elderly residents as convenient subjects because he assumed age made them invisible.
But they remembered.
Frank remembered the cash.
Walter remembered the false fire drill.
Mrs. Patterson remembered Keller.
Teresa remembered Evelyn.
And Hannah remembered the hallway.
The investigation would not depend on one perfect document.
It had people.
Santoro turned toward Eric.
“Rachel volunteered.”
Eric flinched.
“She was sick.”
“She knew the risks.”
Dr. Price’s voice came from the doorway.
“No, she didn’t.”
Everyone turned.
Price had arrived with Evelyn and state investigators.
He held the missing original consent form.
Rachel Sloan had consented to a standard anti-inflammatory trial.
Her form contained no authorization for the experimental compound that caused her fatal reaction.
Eric’s face collapsed.
For years, he had hated the wrong family.
Not completely without reason—the Romano companies had enabled Santoro.
But Dominic had not ordered Rachel’s treatment.
Carlo had not hidden her death.
Keller and Santoro had.
Eric sat down.
Vanessa approached.
This time she didn’t touch him until he nodded.
Santoro was escorted away for questioning as investigators secured the clinic.
But Hannah did not feel finished.
“Keller.”
Dominic nodded.
Still missing.
Then Evelyn walked toward the silver case.
“There’s something else.”
She opened a narrow side compartment.
Inside was a videotape.
Keller had recorded selected patient reactions for years.
The label read:
ZERO — FINAL SESSION.
Teresa.
They returned to Rosewood.
Teresa watched the footage with them.
It showed her during the original trial twenty-one years earlier.
Keller was visible.
So was Santoro.
Then Carlo entered the frame and began shouting.
The audio was weak, but one sentence was clear.
“You stop this now, or I take everything to the state.”
The video continued.
Keller looked directly into the camera.
Then said:
“Carlo won’t make it to the state.”
Dominic’s face went still.
His father’s crash had happened three days later.
Vanessa whispered, “They killed Dad.”
Price shook his head.
“We don’t know that yet.”
Hannah appreciated him saying it.
Evidence mattered more than rage.
Then Teresa noticed something in the video.
“Pause.”
Hannah froze the frame.
Behind Keller was a corkboard.
Pinned to it was a vehicle maintenance form.
Carlo’s car.
Brake inspection.
Signed by a contractor.
Eric leaned closer.
“I know that company.”
Dominic looked at him.
“How?”
Eric’s face drained.
“My father worked there.”
The room fell silent.
Eric stared at the signature.
May you like
Then whispered:
“That’s his handwriting.”
