Chapter 7 - The Wife Who Signed the Order
Christopher stared at the medication order as though it belonged to another family.
"My mother wouldn't hurt him."
Dominic didn't answer.
Margaret Bennett had spent forty-eight years married to Walter.
She knew his habits.
His medications.
His private physicians.
And, apparently, the instructions needed to move him without attracting attention.
Emily studied the document.
"Maybe she signed because someone told her it was necessary."
Christopher shook his head.
"My mother reads every medical paper twice. She used to be a nurse."
Daniel frowned.
"Then she would understand what that medication could do."
Christopher's face tightened.
"Exactly."
Dominic folded the paper.
"We find her. Then we ask."
They arrived at the Bennett estate before dawn.
The property occupied nearly thirty wooded acres outside Philadelphia.
Security cameras monitored the driveway.
A guard stood beneath the stone entrance.
Dominic could have forced his way inside.
Instead, he called Christopher's name through the intercom.
The gates opened.
Christopher looked surprised.
"Why would they let us in?"
"Because somebody wants this conversation."
Inside, the main hallway was empty.
No servants.
No family photographs in their usual places.
The house felt prepared for inspection.
Dominic noticed the absence immediately.
"Where are your people?"
Christopher looked around.
"Most of the staff were sent home yesterday."
Gabriel checked the hallway.
"Two guards outside. One upstairs."
Emily noticed something on a side table.
A silver medical bracelet.
The kind used in hospitals.
Printed across the band were Walter's name and date of birth.
She picked it up.
"Why would this be downstairs?"
A woman's voice answered from the staircase.
"Because my husband refused to wear it."
Margaret Bennett descended slowly.
She wore a pale blue cardigan and looked as though she hadn't slept.
Her hair was pinned neatly.
But one wrist was bruised.
Christopher rushed toward her.
"Mom!"
Margaret embraced him.
"Where is Lily?"
"Safe."
She closed her eyes.
"Thank God."
Dominic remained near the foot of the stairs.
"Where's Walter?"
Margaret looked at the folded medication order in his hand.
"You found it."
"Did you sign it?"
"Yes."
Christopher stepped back.
"Mom."
Margaret's face crumpled.
"Christopher, I had a reason."
"You ordered medication that nearly killed Dad."
"No."
Her voice was suddenly firm.
"I signed an order to keep him sedated long enough to remove him from the hospital system Victoria controlled."
Dominic studied her.
"Why?"
"Because Walter was planning to confess."
The room became very quiet.
Margaret clasped her hands.
"He told me everything three weeks ago. About Anthony. About Peter. About the graves."
"Then why didn't you go to the police?" Dominic asked.
"I tried."
She looked toward the staircase.
"Victoria had already placed someone inside Walter's medical team. The first physician I contacted disappeared from the case within twenty-four hours."
Emily frowned.
"So you signed a medication order?"
"Yes. For a carefully measured dose, under a physician's supervision. Walter had agreed to be transported to a secure facility."
Dominic looked down at the document.
"But this dose is far higher."
Margaret nodded.
"Someone altered it."
"Victoria?"
"That's what I believed."
Christopher looked devastated.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Margaret touched his face.
"Because you were trying to keep your marriage together. And because I knew Victoria monitored your phone."
Christopher lowered his head.
Margaret looked toward Emily.
"You're Ruth Parker's daughter."
"Yes."
"I owe your mother an apology that no words can cover."
Emily waited.
"Then tell me where Walter is."
Margaret nodded toward the rear corridor.
"In the private medical wing. He's awake now."
Walter Bennett lay in a large hospital bed overlooking the gardens.
He appeared smaller than Dominic remembered.
A heart monitor glowed beside him.
An oxygen tube rested beneath his nose.
When Dominic entered, Walter closed his eyes.
"I knew you'd come."
Dominic approached the bed.
"You should have told me about my father years ago."
Walter nodded.
"I should have."
"Did you kill him?"
Walter opened his eyes.
"No."
"Did you help hide what happened?"
"Yes."
Dominic stood motionless.
The admission hurt more than he expected.
Walter had been a fixture in the Moretti home since Dominic was a child.
He had taught Dominic to play chess.
He had stood at Anthony's funeral and promised to look after him.
"You let me believe my father betrayed innocent people."
Walter swallowed.
"I let you believe a great many things."
Dominic leaned forward.
"Then start correcting them."
Walter reached toward the bedside table.
His hand shook.
"Anthony found out the compensation fund had been drained. He believed I was responsible."
"Weren't you?"
Walter's eyes filled.
"I signed the transfers."
Dominic stared.
"But I didn't keep the money."
"Who did?"
Walter looked toward Margaret.
She stood in the doorway.
"Tell him," she whispered.
Walter closed his eyes.
"Christopher."
Christopher stepped forward.
"What?"
Walter looked at his son.
"You were supposed to inherit the company. The fund was being used to prop up one of your failing investments."
Christopher staggered.
"I never knew the money came from that fund."
Walter nodded.
"Because I hid it from you."
Dominic clenched his jaw.
"And Anthony discovered it?"
"Yes. He demanded I repay every dollar and tell the families what happened."
"Why didn't you?"
Walter looked ashamed.
"Because the company would have collapsed. I told myself thousands of employees would lose their jobs."
Dominic's voice sharpened.
"So you let innocent families suffer instead."
Walter didn't argue.
"I did."
Emily stepped forward.
"My mother spent years fighting to get the rehabilitation she needed. Did her payments come from that same fund?"
Walter looked at her.
"Yes."
"And Victoria used them to control me."
Walter's face changed.
"She wasn't authorized to do that."
Emily gave a bitter laugh.
"That didn't stop her."
Walter reached for her hand.
Emily stepped back.
"Please don't."
He withdrew it.
Dominic turned toward Margaret.
"Where is Victoria?"
Margaret's expression hardened.
"She left before you arrived."
"With what?"
"The foundation's archived accounts."
Daniel entered from the hallway.
"Dominic."
Something in his voice made everyone turn.
"I found the original drug order in the medical office."
Dominic looked toward him.
"The real one?"
Daniel nodded.
"The dose was altered after Margaret signed. The electronic record shows who accessed it."
Christopher stepped forward.
"Victoria?"
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
He handed Dominic a printed audit report.
The alterations had been made through the administrator account belonging to Walter Bennett.
Walter stared at the paper.
"Impossible."
Dominic looked up.
"Then who had your password?"
Walter's breathing became shallow.
Margaret moved toward him.
"Walter?"
The old billionaire gripped the bedrail.
"My wife."
Christopher stared.
Margaret stopped moving.
May you like
Walter looked at her with horror.
"Margaret, what have you done?"
