Chapter 12 - THE ACCUSATION AGAINST THEODORE
My grandfather read the sentence without reacting.
Then he sat down.
“Is it true?” I asked.
“I knew there were complaints.”
“That is not the same question.”
Theodore looked through the glass at the twins.
“Three months ago, Grant informed Vale Health that several hospitals had reported valve irregularities.”
“What did you do?”
“I ordered an internal review.”
“Who conducted it?”
“Dr. Pierce.”
My stomach tightened.
“He told you there was no defect.”
“Yes.”
“Did you read the original reports?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I trusted the medical review.”
The man who warned me never to advertise wealth had made the most ordinary mistake of powerful people.
He trusted a system because it belonged to him.
Grant used that failure to protect himself.
His confession implied Theodore knowingly ignored infant deaths.
News outlets received the document before federal investigators could seal it.
Someone inside the jail had leaked it.
By evening, protesters gathered outside Beacon Crest.
They carried photographs of babies who had received Mercer Valves.
Some demanded my grandfather’s resignation.
Others accused the network of using children as experiments.
Theodore called an emergency press conference.
Helen advised him to wait.
He refused.
“I told Emma silence ends now.”
He stood before cameras inside the hospital lobby.
“I was informed of concerns regarding the Mercer Valve.”
“I ordered a review.”
“I relied on Dr. Malcolm Pierce’s conclusion that the device was safe.”
“That trust was misplaced.”
“I accept responsibility for failing to examine the original evidence.”
He announced an independent investigation.
He stepped down as chairman of Vale Health during the review.
He opened every related file to federal authorities.
The statement cost billions in market value.
It also prevented Grant’s accusation from becoming blackmail.
Afterward, Theodore returned to the NICU.
“You may lose the network,” I said.
“If it deserves to survive, it will survive truth.”
“And if it does not?”
“Then it should not carry our name.”
Grant remained hospitalized under guard.
Vanessa requested a deal.
She offered records proving that Helix Meridian funded the cover-up.
In exchange, she wanted reduced charges.
Investigators agreed to hear her.
She described a plan larger than Grant.
Helix Meridian wanted Vale Health weakened before a hostile takeover.
They recruited Pierce.
They financed Julian.
They encouraged Grant to conceal the device failures.
Vanessa’s affair with Grant began as an assignment.
The fake pregnancy forced him to choose her publicly.
The divorce would separate me from company decisions.
The premature birth created a crisis.
Noah’s kidnapping created a test subject.
Every betrayal had been converted into a business strategy.
Then Vanessa revealed the final step.
“If Noah died during the experimental procedure, Grant was supposed to blame Theodore.”
“If Noah survived, Helix would claim the patent.”
“What happened to Elise?” I asked.
Vanessa looked away.
“She was insurance.”
My entire body became cold.
May you like
“What does that mean?”
“If they lost Noah, they planned to take her instead.”
