“No.”
Vale, who had been returned to the room under guard, spoke quickly.
“Internal fixation hardware.
Standard after a fracture of this severity.”
Nia enlarged the image.
“It is a surgical screw, but it is not where it should be.
It crosses the edge of the canal and appears to be compressing the left nerve roots.”
Claire felt the same cold certainty she had felt beneath her fingers.
“Could it have shifted?” she asked.
“Possibly,” Nia said.
“But the surrounding bone suggests it has been in this position for a very long time.”
Sebastian turned toward Vale.
“How long?”
Vale said nothing.
Nia looked at him.
“The original postoperative scan would tell us.”
Gabriel’s phone rang again.
Dominic Lombardi had arrived.
He entered the bedroom wearing a camel-colored coat over a midnight suit, his silver hair perfectly combed despite the rain.
Two attorneys followed him.
So did a private security team that Gabriel stopped at the front hall.
Dominic looked first at Sebastian, then at Claire.
“So this is the healer,” he said.
“The entire house is awake because a massage therapist saw a shoe twitch.”
“She is a licensed physical therapist,” Nia said.
Dominic smiled at her.
“And you must be the independent expert summoned after midnight by armed men.”
Sebastian pointed toward the leather case in Dominic’s hand.
“Put it on the table.”
Dominic did not move.
“You called me here without explanation,” he said.
“Before we discuss anything, your attorneys should be present.”
“My father’s trauma scans are in that case.”
Dominic’s smile faded by a fraction.
“Old family records,” he said.
“I preserved them because hospitals lose things.”
“You told me they were lost.”
“I told you the hospital lost its copies.”
One of Dominic’s attorneys stepped forward with a folder.
“Mr.
Lombardi, there is another matter requiring immediate attention.
Concerns have been raised regarding your current medical judgment and the security disruption tonight.”
Sebastian took the folder.
It contained a petition to activate the incapacity clause in the family holding company.
If approved, Dominic would assume temporary voting control over Sebastian’s legitimate businesses, accounts, and properties.
Dominic lowered his voice into something almost fatherly.
“You are exhausted.
You have been in pain for decades.
Now a desperate woman touches you and promises a miracle.
The responsible thing is to step back.”
Claire saw Sebastian’s grip tighten on the folder.
Dominic looked at her worn shoes and inexpensive scrubs.
“How much did he offer you?”
Claire met his gaze.
“Less than you offered his doctor.”
