Chapter 10: The Truth Michael Carried
Chapter 10: The Truth Michael Carried
The intensive care unit became a flurry of activity.
Dr. Amelia Brooks hurried into Michael Donovan's room with two nurses close behind. She checked his pupils, reviewed the monitors, and smiled faintly.
"Mr. Donovan, can you hear me?"
Michael blinked slowly.
"Yes."
"Do you know where you are?"
"Carter Memorial..."
"And do you know today's date?"
After a brief pause, he answered correctly.
Dr. Brooks looked relieved.
"He's alert."
Detective Laura Bennett, who had been waiting just outside the room, stepped inside.
"Can he speak?"
"For a few minutes," Dr. Brooks replied. "No more than that. He needs rest."
Michael turned his head toward Bennett.
"I asked for Chairman Carter."
"He's on his way."
Five minutes later, William Carter and Marcus Thorne entered the ICU.
Michael looked exhausted, his face pale beneath the hospital lights.
William pulled a chair beside the bed.
"I'm here."
Michael swallowed painfully.
"I'm sorry."
William frowned.
"For what?"
"For waiting this long."
Marcus stepped closer.
"What happened, Michael?"
Michael closed his eyes for a moment before speaking.
"I never wanted anyone to get hurt."
The room fell silent.
Detective Bennett activated a digital recorder.
"This interview is being recorded with your consent."
Michael nodded weakly.
"I understand."
He took a slow breath.
"About two years ago, Vice Chairman Charles Whitmore approached me."
William's face hardened.
"He wanted access to confidential hospital files."
Marcus frowned.
"What kind of files?"
"Executive records."
"Financial reports."
"Private patient archives."
Michael hesitated.
"And sealed documents."
William looked directly at him.
"The DNA file."
Michael nodded.
"Yes."
Marcus exchanged a puzzled glance with William.
"You knew about it?"
"I found it while upgrading the hospital servers."
William remained silent.
Michael continued.
"Charles ordered me to copy every sealed file connected to your family."
William's jaw tightened.
"And did you?"
"At first... yes."
"Why?"
Michael looked ashamed.
"My daughter needed heart surgery."
Marcus's expression softened.
"Charles offered to pay for it."
"He said no one would ever know."
William quietly asked,
"Did he keep his promise?"
Michael nodded.
"My daughter had the surgery."
"She's alive because of that money."
He looked down.
"But I spent the next two years regretting what I did."
Detective Bennett leaned forward.
"What was Charles looking for?"
Michael answered without hesitation.
"Anything he could use."
"Blackmail."
"Leverage."
"Family secrets."
Marcus frowned.
"Against whom?"
"The Carter family."
"And eventually..."
He looked at Marcus.
"...the Thorne family."
William slowly stood.
"Why?"
Michael met his eyes.
"Because Charles believed you were going to name Khloe as your successor on the Hospital Board."
William looked surprised.
"I hadn't announced that."
"No."
"But Charles found the draft."
Marcus looked at William.
"You were planning to?"
William nodded quietly.
"After the baby was born."
"I wanted Khloe to help oversee the family foundation and eventually join the Board."
Michael sighed.
"When Charles discovered that..."
"He panicked."
Detective Bennett asked the question everyone was thinking.
"So he recruited Isabella?"
Michael nodded.
"She was already obsessed with Marcus."
"Charles promised her that if Khloe disappeared..."
Marcus clenched his fists.
"...she'd have another chance."
Michael nodded sadly.
"She believed him."
Khloe listened from the doorway.
No one had realized she had quietly walked down the hallway with a nurse's assistance.
Her face had gone completely pale.
Marcus immediately crossed the room.
"You shouldn't be out of bed."
She barely heard him.
"She attacked me..."
Her voice trembled.
"...because someone manipulated her?"
Michael looked at her with tears in his eyes.
"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Thorne."
"I should've come forward sooner."
Khloe shook her head.
"You tried."
"They nearly killed you for it."
Detective Bennett returned to the interview.
"The night of the gala."
"Were you involved?"
Michael answered firmly.
"No."
"I resigned because I finally realized Charles wasn't planning to stop."
"I copied the surveillance footage before anyone could erase it."
"The flash drive?"
"Yes."
"I wanted to bring it to the police."
Marcus looked surprised.
"So you stole it to protect the evidence."
Michael nodded.
"But I didn't know another file was hidden inside."
William slowly folded his arms.
"The DNA report."
Michael nodded again.
"I never opened it until later."
William looked out the hospital window.
"There are some secrets that were never meant to become weapons."
Marcus quietly asked,
"Should I know what's in that report?"
William hesitated.
"One day."
"But today isn't about old family history."
"It's about justice."
Marcus accepted the answer.
For now.
Just then, Daniel Reyes entered the ICU carrying urgent paperwork.
"Chairman."
William turned.
"What is it?"
"We have a warrant."
Detective Bennett looked up.
"For Charles?"
Daniel nodded.
"The judge signed it twenty minutes ago."
Marcus exhaled.
"Finally."
"But..."
Daniel's expression darkened.
"We're too late."
The room fell silent.
"What do you mean?"
Daniel placed a photograph on the bed.
It showed Charles Whitmore's mansion.
Empty.
The garage stood open.
Three vehicles were gone.
The home office had been stripped clean.
His computers.
Financial records.
Personal files.
Everything had disappeared.
"He fled?" Marcus asked.
Daniel nodded.
"About an hour before the warrant was issued."
Detective Bennett immediately grabbed her phone.
"Notify airports, train stations, and border patrol."
"It's already done."
William stared at the photograph.
"He planned an escape."
Michael slowly shook his head.
"No."
Everyone looked at him.
"If Charles ran..."
He struggled to sit up.
"...he won't leave the country."
"Why not?" Bennett asked.
Michael's expression grew grave.
"Because there's one thing he still doesn't have."
"The DNA report."
Silence filled the room.
William slowly looked toward the locked evidence cabinet visible through the ICU office window.
The confidential report.
The one Charles had spent years searching for.
The one hidden among the surveillance files.
The one William had protected for seven years.
If Michael was right...
Charles Whitmore wasn't running away.
He was coming back.
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And this time, he wasn't after Khloe.
He was after the secret that could change everything.
