Chapter 9 - THE SECOND DOCTOR
The second signature belonged to Dr. Malcolm Price.
Roberto had never met him.
That made the plan even clearer.
Price specialized in competency evaluations for high-net-worth clients.
Marcus discovered three lawsuits accusing him of producing favorable evaluations for wealthy families involved in inheritance disputes.
None had resulted in conviction.
But patterns mattered.
Roberto arranged a meeting under a false corporate name.
Marcus recorded everything legally with the investigator’s consent procedures already in place.
Price arrived expecting a wealthy family seeking to challenge an elderly relative.
Instead he found Roberto.
The doctor stopped at the doorway.
“You.”
Roberto gestured toward the chair.
“Sit.”
Price turned to leave.
Marcus blocked the exit.
“Nobody is detaining you.”
“But leaving would be interesting.”
Price reluctantly sat.
Roberto placed the psychiatric declaration in front of him.
“My attorney says you planned to sign this.”
Price stared at the page.
“I have no idea what that is.”
Roberto slid photographs across the table.
Vanessa entering Price’s clinic.
Vanessa meeting him at a restaurant.
Vanessa transferring money to a consulting company registered to his brother.
Price’s face changed.
Marcus leaned forward.
“Your choice is simple.”
“You can explain before the authorities ask.”
“Or after.”
Price rubbed both hands over his face.
“She said you were dangerous.”
Roberto remained silent.
“She said you controlled your daughter obsessively.”
“She said you refused treatment.”
“She said your business decisions had become erratic.”
“Did you examine me?”
“No.”
“Did you speak with me?”
“No.”
“Then what exactly were you going to certify?”
Price looked ashamed.
“A temporary psychiatric emergency.”
“For money.”
“Yes.”
Roberto stood.
“How much?”
“One hundred thousand.”
Price quickly added, “I haven’t signed.”
“Why not?”
“She wanted the date left blank.”
Roberto looked at Marcus.
That detail mattered.
Vanessa wanted to activate the document whenever she chose.
“What would happen after the second signature?”
Price answered reluctantly.
“Depending on the trust language, your wife could petition for emergency control.”
“And my daughter?”
“If she were already documented as psychologically unstable, her guardian would likely control her assets too.”
There it was.
The entire architecture.
Drug Sofía.
Create medical records showing decline.
Build a case that Roberto was mentally unstable.
Forge or manipulate authority documents.
Then remove both father and daughter from control.
Roberto felt almost impressed by the cold precision.
Almost.
Price reached into his briefcase.
“There’s something else.”
He removed an envelope.
“She gave me this.”
Inside were photographs.
Roberto entering a grief counselor’s office after Elena’s death.
Roberto shouting at reporters outside the hospital.
Roberto asleep beside Sofía’s bed while she recovered.
Ordinary moments of grief had been assembled to look obsessive and unstable.
Then Roberto reached the final photograph.
His blood ran cold.
It showed Elena’s wrecked car.
A red circle had been drawn around the driver’s-side front tire.
On the back, in Vanessa’s handwriting, were four words.
ASK SEBASTIAN ABOUT THE BRAKES.
Roberto stared at the message.
Vanessa had entered his life two years after Elena died.
There should have been no connection.
But suddenly the oldest wound in Roberto’s life had opened again.
May you like
And somewhere inside it, Sebastian’s name was waiting.
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