Chapter 10 - The Doctor’s Reckoning
10 - 15
The grand ballroom of the Varric estate was a cavernous expanse of polished white marble, gilded gold molding, and crystal chandeliers that burned white against the stormy night outside. Standing in the exact center of the gleaming floor was Dr. Alistair Vance, impeccably dressed in a bespoke charcoal suit, clutching a leather briefcase with hands that trembled despite his professional veneer of authority.
Flanked by four silent, armed guards in black suits, Dr. Vance looked every bit the nervous bureaucrat trapped in a lion’s den.
Heavy double doors at the far end of the ballroom swung open with a slow, echoing creak.
Matteo Varric strode into the room alone, his dark hair immaculate, his stride unhurried and predatory. He did not wear a jacket; his white shirt sleeves were rolled up slightly to his forearms, revealing the lean, hardened muscle of a man who fought his own wars.
"Dr. Vance," Matteo greeted, his voice carrying effortlessly across the marble expanse. "Welcome to my home. I understand you had urgent questions regarding our local healthcare administration."
Dr. Vance swallowed hard, adjusting his gold-rimmed spectacles. "Mr. Varric... I apologize for the unannounced visit. But our internal audit committee flagged a severe irregularity in the maternity discharge logs from twenty-three days ago. A infant recorded as deceased... was somehow never entered into the county morgue’s final cremation registry."
Matteo stopped ten paces away from the doctor, his hands sliding casually into his trouser pockets. "Is that right? And why would a hospital administrator from St. Jude’s care so deeply about a single missing cremation record on a stormy night?"
"Because," Dr. Vance stammered, taking a nervous half-step backward, "the federal health inspector general is launching a statewide audit of our neonatal department tomorrow morning. If those files don't align with local death certificates, my entire medical board will face federal conspiracy charges."
Matteo let out a short, cold laugh that lacked any trace of humor. "Conspiracy charges. How terrifying for you, Doctor."
He took two slow steps closer, his black eyes boring into the administrator's soul. "You know, Dr. Vance, twenty-three days ago, a young woman walked out of your hospital with a box of pine shavings and dirt, believing her newborn son was dead. That woman spent three weeks weeping under gray skies, mourning a child you and your corrupt logistics manager, Viktor, traded away like a commodity on the black market."
Dr. Vance went completely pale, his knees buckling slightly beneath his tailored suit trousers. "I... I had nothing to do with Viktor’s personal operations! I was just following corporate directives—"
"Corporate directives," Matteo interrupted, his voice dropping into a deadly whisper. "Tell me, Doctor, how much did Viktor pay you to look the other way while my son was stolen from his nursery and replaced with another mother’s child?"
Before Dr. Vance could formulate a lie, the ballroom doors swung open once more.
Liana walked into the room. She was wearing a simple, elegant dark emerald dress, her chin held high, carrying nine-month-old Nico securely in her arms. The baby was awake, his large, shimmering eyes fixed directly on the frightened doctor standing across the marble floor.
Dr. Vance’s jaw dropped. He stared at the infant in Liana’s arms, recognizing the facial structure instantly from the confidential birth dossiers he had shredded three weeks prior.
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"The... the boy..." Dr. Vance whispered, horror dawning in his eyes. "He was supposed to be in Geneva by now..."
"He is right where he belongs," Matteo said, stepping smoothly in front of Liana to shield her and the child from the terrified doctor. He drew his heavy 9mm pistol from his holster with practiced ease, letting the heavy steel barrel catch the harsh light of the crystal chandeliers. "And you, Doctor, are going to help us write a brand-new medical history for this family—starting with a notarized affidavit stating that Lucas Graves and Nico Varric are one and the same, born under my roof, and legally protected by every drop of blood in this city."
