Chapter 10 - THE DEAD DOCTORRachel Bennett arrived at the gas station shortly after 7:00 p.m.
She drove an older silver SUV.
She was in her early forties, with short dark hair and tired eyes.
A camera bag rested on the passenger seat.
When she stepped out, Atlas immediately approached her.
Rachel stopped.
Then knelt.
“Hello, old friend.”
Sofia stared.
“You know him?”
Rachel stroked the shepherd's head.
“Your mother introduced us three years ago.”
Sofia felt another wave of disbelief.
“You've known Mom was alive?”
Rachel looked up.
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Claire made me promise not to contact you until we had enough evidence to keep you safe.”
Sofia turned away.
Everyone had been protecting her.
Everyone had been deciding what she deserved to know.
And every decision had cost her another piece of her life.
Rachel stood.
“You have every right to be angry.”
Sofia faced her.
“I'm not interested in apologies. I want answers.”
Rachel nodded.
“Then I'll give you what I know.”
They sat inside the SUV while rain struck the windshield.
Rachel opened her laptop.
She showed Sofia a photograph of a distinguished-looking physician in his fifties.
“Dr. Nathaniel Cross,” she said. “Former medical director of Meridian's neurological research division.”
Sofia studied the face.
“He looks familiar.”
“He should.”
Rachel opened another image.
This one showed a hospital administrator attending a charity event.
His name was listed as Dr. Samuel Whitmore.
Sofia recognized him immediately.
“He's on St. Catherine's board.”
Rachel nodded.
“Nathaniel Cross and Samuel Whitmore are the same man.”
Elise leaned forward.
“He changed his identity?”
“After Meridian collapsed, Cross was declared dead in a boating accident. His body was never recovered.”
Sofia stared at the photographs.
“Another fake death.”
Rachel's expression darkened.
“That's how they protected themselves. Fake deaths. Altered records. New identities.”
Sofia thought of Julien.
Claire.
Elise.
Her entire family had been torn apart by people who treated human lives like paperwork.
Rachel continued.
“Cross rebuilt his operation through smaller research companies. Some were legitimate. Others existed to conceal financial transfers and old records.”
“What does Adrian have to do with him?”
“Adrian controlled security. Cross controlled the research. They protected each other.”
Sofia looked at the hospital photograph.
“And now they're operating beneath St. Catherine's?”
Rachel hesitated.
“I believe they're using the old wing to store records and possibly hold witnesses. But I haven't been able to prove it.”
Sofia thought about Julien.
“They have my father.”
Rachel nodded.
“Then we need to act quickly.”
She opened another folder.
Inside was a list of names.
Sofia recognized several from the farmhouse.
The children.
The patients.
The missing witnesses.
Rachel pointed toward one entry.
“Claire found this six months ago.”
The record belonged to a woman named Margaret Ellis.
A former Meridian nurse.
She had disappeared in 2004.
Her death certificate listed respiratory failure.
But Rachel had found recent bank transactions in her name.
Sofia frowned.
“She's alive?”
“Possibly.”
Rachel clicked another document.
“Someone has been paying for her care through a private medical trust.”
Sofia leaned closer.
The trust's registered address was familiar.
St. Catherine's Medical Center.
Underground Research Wing.
Rachel looked at her.
“Your mother believed Margaret Ellis knew where the original Meridian patient files were hidden.”
Sofia felt a chill.
“And if we find those files?”
“We can establish what happened to the patients and who authorized it.”
Elise spoke quietly.
“Mom said the evidence was never digital.”
Rachel nodded.
“Because digital records can be altered. Claire wanted the original signed documents.”
Sofia looked toward Atlas.
The shepherd had been watching them silently.
Then he stood.
His ears rose.
A low growl escaped his throat.
Outside, headlights appeared at the far end of the parking lot.
A black sedan slowed.
Rachel immediately closed her laptop.
“Everybody down.”
The sedan stopped.
Two men stepped out.
One carried a flashlight.
The other held a photograph.
Sofia saw her own face.
Rachel whispered:
“Don't move.”
The man with the photograph approached the gas station window.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
Listened.
May you like
And said:
“We found the daughters. Tell Dr. Cross the reunion is about to begin.”
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