Chapter 9 - Victor's Story
Nico did not move.
“The what?”
Camille looked at Victor.
Then at the floor.
Victor stood.
“Enough.”
Marco Ruiz stepped between him and the door.
“No.”
Victor’s eyes narrowed.
Camille spoke fast now.
“He filed a petition.”
“When?”
“Yesterday.”
“For what?”
“To have you declared temporarily incapable of managing Alfieri Holdings.”
Nico’s face went empty.
“On what basis?”
“Medical.”
Adeline’s pulse hammered.
Victor said, “This is not the way—”
Nico slammed his palm against the armrest.
“Shut up.”
Victor did.
Mara opened her folder.
“I told you. The records were never about your health.”
Camille continued.
“Victor said the wedding would make the petition cleaner.”
“How?”
“Because I could testify about your behavior.”
Nico looked at her.
“The slap.”
She said nothing.
Adeline answered.
“You provoked him.”
Camille’s eyes filled.
“He told me you would hit me.”
Nico laughed once.
A broken sound.
“So thirty witnesses see the crippled boss lose control.”
Victor said, “You’re dramatizing.”
Mara rounded on him.
“You drugged him.”
Victor’s jaw tightened.
“Prove it.”
Adeline held up the lab report.
“Working on it.”
Victor looked at her.
“I can end your brother’s coverage with one phone call.”
Nico’s voice turned cold.
“You make that call and it will be the last business decision you ever make.”
Victor smiled.
“You still think you control the company.”
Nico stared at him.
Victor reached into his jacket.
Marco raised his weapon.
“Slow.”
Victor removed a folded legal notice.
He placed it on the table.
Emergency competency evaluation.
Scheduled 9:00 a.m.
The next morning.
Nico read.
Applicant:
Victor Alfieri.
Proposed temporary fiduciary:
Victor Alfieri.
He looked up.
“You filed against me.”
“I filed to protect the company.”
“You caused the crash.”
“An edited recording says I discussed brakes.”
“You changed my medication.”
“You have a lab result from a nurse’s friend.”
“You threatened her brother.”
“Someone forged a credential.”
Victor’s calm was almost perfect.
Almost.
Mara leaned forward.
“Then why did you burn the nursery?”
His eyes moved to her.
One beat too slow.
Nico saw it.
Victor saw that Nico saw it.
A phone rang.
Edna entered with a court officer behind her.
Then another man.
Dr. Martin Cole.
Adeline stood.
Cole avoided her eyes.
The court officer said, “Mr. Alfieri, this is an order requiring immediate medical evaluation pending tomorrow’s hearing.”
Nico looked at Cole.
“You.”
Cole opened his leather bag.
“I’m here as a neutral evaluator.”
Mara laughed.
“No, you aren’t.”
Cole’s face tightened.
Nico turned to his attorney on speakerphone.
“Can I refuse?”
The attorney answered.
“You can object. But refusal may be used against you.”
Victor’s mouth moved slightly.
Adeline saw it.
A smile.
Nico did too.
He said, “Fine.”
Adeline crouched beside him.
“You don’t prove anything tonight.”
“I know.”
Cole began.
Orientation.
Memory.
Motor strength.
Pain.
Medication compliance.
Then he asked Nico to attempt movement.
Nico placed both feet flat.
Adeline looked at him.
He ignored her.
He gripped the chair.
Push.
His shoulders rose.
His hips lifted.
Two inches.
Then four.
Cole stopped writing.
Victor’s face changed.
Nico’s left knee trembled.
Adeline reached for the gait belt.
A gunshot shattered the window.
Glass burst across the room.
Cole dropped.
Camille screamed.
Nico’s leg buckled.
May you like
Adeline caught him.
A second bullet hit the wall exactly where his head had been.
