Chapter 4 - The Man Who Knew Too Much
"Funny," Damian said into the phone. "I don't remember asking for your opinion about my household."
Salvatore chuckled.
"You're getting suspicious in your old age."
"I'm thirty-eight."
"And already acting like your father."
Damian's fingers tightened around the phone.
"What do you want?"
"Breakfast tomorrow. There's business we should discuss."
"The docks?"
"Among other things."
Salvatore paused.
"And Damian? I hope your mother's feeling better."
The call ended.
Damian didn't move.
Paul waited.
"Well?"
"He's fishing."
"About the medical investigation?"
"About what we know."
Damian looked at the security footage again.
"Get me everything on Bellwether's ownership. Proper records, legal filings, contracts. And preserve the original footage."
Paul nodded.
"There's something I should tell you."
Damian turned.
"Vivian's been removed from duty pending the investigation, but Miss Miller hasn't been told the full reason. She's worried she caused it."
"Then explain she didn't."
"She might not believe me."
Damian understood that problem better than he wanted to.
People who lived under constant pressure often assumed every disaster was somehow their responsibility.
He had watched Tessa apologize for needing a doctor after she'd been injured helping his mother.
That evening, he found her outside the medical suite.
She was carrying a bag containing her replacement bandages.
"Miss Miller."
She stopped immediately.
"Mr. Costa."
"Can we speak?"
Her eyes moved toward the security guard behind him.
"Have I done something wrong?"
Damian looked at Paul.
"Leave us."
Paul stepped away.
Damian waited until they were alone.
"No. You've done nothing wrong."
Tessa nodded, but her shoulders remained tense.
"I was told Ms. Shaw was suspended."
"Yes."
"Because of what I said?"
"Because of inconsistencies in medical records and concerns about her conduct. Those decisions are my responsibility."
Tessa stared at the floor.
"She knew about Emily."
Damian felt a sharp pulse of anger.
"What did she say?"
Tessa told him.
Everything.
The hallway.
Her wrist.
The warning about medical bills.
The way Vivian had said Emily's name.
When she finished, Damian was silent.
Finally, he asked, "Are you afraid she's going to do something?"
Tessa gave a short, exhausted laugh.
"Mr. Costa, I'm afraid of about twelve different things before breakfast."
"What does that mean?"
"It means my landlord doesn't care whether I'm a good person. Neither does the collection agency calling me six times a day. And the diner owner keeps cutting my shifts because I can't always stay late."
She looked up.
"I can't afford to lose this job."
Damian nodded slowly.
"I understand."
"No, you don't."
The words came out before she could stop them.
Damian looked at her.
She closed her eyes briefly.
"I'm sorry."
"Stop apologizing."
"Then stop saying you understand things you haven't experienced."
He absorbed that.
She continued, quieter now.
"I know you have your own problems. But if somebody fired you tomorrow, you'd still have somewhere to sleep."
Damian didn't argue.
"You're right."
Tessa looked surprised.
He glanced at her bandaged hand.
"That doesn't mean I can't take your concerns seriously."
He explained that Vivian had been removed from patient care, and that an independent medical review was underway.
Tessa listened.
"Does Beatrice know?"
"Only that new nurses are caring for her."
"She's going to be confused."
"Probably."
"She doesn't like too many new faces."
"I know."
Tessa looked toward Room 104.
"Could I sit with her while they explain?"
Damian hesitated.
He wanted to say yes immediately.
But Dr. Whitmore had reminded him that familiarity wasn't a substitute for clinical judgment.
"If the medical team agrees."
She nodded.
"That's fair."
Something about those three words unsettled him.
He was accustomed to employees agreeing because disagreement carried consequences.
Tessa agreed because he'd finally given her a reasonable answer.
The distinction mattered.
The next morning, Damian met Salvatore at a private dining club overlooking the harbor.
Salvatore Rinaldi was sixty-one, broad-shouldered, silver-haired, and fond of expensive watches that looked ridiculous beside his thick fingers.
He had known Damian's father.
That history had kept him alive through disagreements that would have ended less connected men.
"You look tired," Salvatore said.
"You're observant."
"How's Beatrice?"
"Receiving excellent care."
"Good. We owe our mothers everything."
Damian stirred his coffee.
"Interesting philosophy."
Salvatore smiled.
"You're in a mood."
"Get to the point."
Salvatore placed a folder on the table.
Inside was a proposed partnership involving the waterfront shipping terminals.
Damian had rejected versions of the arrangement twice already.
"The numbers are better," Salvatore said.
"They're still dishonest."
"That's an ugly word."
"Then give me prettier numbers."
Salvatore leaned back.
"The waterfront isn't what it used to be. Things are changing. You need allies."
"I have allies."
"You have employees. There's a difference."
Damian closed the folder.
"Anything else?"
Salvatore studied him.
"Your mother was always the heart of your family."
Damian said nothing.
"A shame what's happened to her."
"Careful."
"I'm expressing sympathy."
"No. You're testing boundaries."
Salvatore's smile thinned.
"Maybe you're more sensitive than you used to be."
Damian stood.
"Maybe."
As he turned, Salvatore spoke again.
"One more thing. That young woman working in your house—Miller, isn't it?"
Damian stopped.
Salvatore lifted his coffee.
"She seems unusually devoted."
Damian looked back.
"How would you know?"
For the first time, Salvatore's expression faltered.
Only slightly.
But Damian saw it.
"People talk."
Damian left without another word.
Back at the estate, he summoned Paul.
"Salvatore knows Tessa's name."
Paul's face darkened.
"How?"
"That's what I want to know."
Paul hesitated.
"We found something in the employee financial disclosures."
"What?"
"Miss Miller has a private loan. The lender sold the debt three months ago."
"To whom?"
"A collection company called Harbor Recovery."
Damian waited.
Paul placed the ownership report on the desk.
Harbor Recovery was controlled through an investment company connected to Bellwether Health Services.
And Bellwether led straight back to Salvatore Rinaldi.
Damian stared at the paper.
Tessa hadn't come into his house connected to Salvatore.
May you like
But Salvatore had acquired a way to hurt her.
And Damian was beginning to understand why.
