Chapter 3: The Person I Never Suspected
The frozen image stayed on the screen.
Nobody breathed.
Nobody moved.
I stared at the shadowed figure standing outside my medical room.
The watch was clear.
The one I recognized.
But the face wasn’t.
Vincent enlarged the image.
The pixels stretched.
The figure became blurry.
Still impossible to identify.
Arthur looked relieved.
Too relieved.
“That proves nothing.””
I turned toward him.
“You’re right.””
His eyebrows lifted.
“I’m glad you understand.””
“I said it proves nothing about you.””
His expression changed.
A small crack.
A tiny moment where he realized I wasn’t finished.
Vincent continued.
“The footage was copied from the security server at 9:02 this morning.””
“By whom?”” I asked.
He looked down.
“That’s what we’re checking.””
Samuel looked uncomfortable.
“Dominic, we need to consider something.””
“What?””
“Your brace being altered may not have been the only thing changed.””
I looked at him.
“What do you mean?””
He placed the evidence bag on the table.
“Medical records. Medication schedules. Physical therapy notes.””
My chest tightened.
“You think someone altered those?””
“I think someone wanted you to believe you were getting worse.””
The words hit harder than I expected.
Because suddenly every strange moment from the past month returned.
The appointment that was changed without my approval.
The medication that made me dizzy.
The exercises that caused more pain instead of less.
I had thought recovery was supposed to be difficult.
I never considered that someone was making it difficult.
Arthur watched me carefully.
Then he spoke softly.
“Dominic, grief has made you suspicious of everyone.””
There it was again.
The same strategy.
Make me doubt myself.
Make everyone else doubt me too.
I stepped closer.
“Do you know what your problem is, Arthur?””
He said nothing.
“You think because you’ve manipulated people for years, everyone else works the same way.””
His face hardened.
“I have built this company with you.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“You built your position beside me.””
A silence followed.
Then Ellie’s voice came from behind me.
“He was the one.””
Everyone turned.
The little girl stood beside her mother.
Clare looked nervous.
“Ellie, honey…”
But Ellie pointed at the screen.
“The watch man.””
I looked at her.
“You saw the watch?””
She nodded.
“He wore it yesterday.””
Arthur immediately stepped forward.
“Young lady, you may be confused.””
The moment he spoke, Ellie moved closer to her mother.
I noticed.
A child doesn’t know corporate politics.
A child doesn’t understand manipulation.
But a child knows when someone feels dangerous.
“Arthur,” I said.
He stopped.
“Don’t speak to her.””
His eyes met mine.
For the first time, there was anger.
Real anger.
Not hidden.
Not polished.
“You’re choosing a child over me?””
“No.””
I looked at him.
“I’m choosing the truth over you.””
Before he could answer, Vincent’s phone buzzed.
He checked it.
Then his face went pale.
“What?””
He turned the screen toward me.
“It’s from the security office.””
“What happened?””
“They found the person who accessed the medical room.””
Everyone waited.
“Who?””
Vincent swallowed.
“It was Clare Bennett.””
The room exploded.
Clare’s face went white.
“No.””
She shook her head quickly.
“No, that’s impossible.””
Arthur immediately stepped back.
Almost like he was trying to separate himself from the accusation.
I looked at Clare.
The woman who had spent years cleaning my home.
The woman who raised her daughter alone.
The woman whose child had just saved me.
“Clare,” I said quietly.
She looked at me with tears forming.
“Mr. Vale, I swear I didn’t do anything.””
Vincent looked confused.
“Dominic, the access log says her employee badge entered the room.””
Clare shook her head.
“I don’t even have permission for that area.””
I believed she was telling the truth.
Because something was wrong.
Very wrong.
The same person who had altered my brace had also done something else.
They had created a perfect trail.
A trail pointing at someone nobody would question.
Someone invisible.
Someone with no power.
Someone like Clare.
I looked back at Arthur.
He was watching her.
Not with surprise.
With satisfaction.
And that was when I understood.
Arthur wasn’t shocked that Clare had been accused.
He was waiting for it.
I walked toward the screen again.
“Vincent.””
“Yes?””
“Show me the badge record.””
He pulled it up.
I studied the information.
Then I saw the timestamp.
The exact second the badge was used.
My eyes narrowed.
Because there was one detail nobody else noticed.
The badge belonged to Clare.
But the person who used it…
Had never touched the door.
“Arthur.””
He looked at me.
“Yes?””
“Where were you yesterday at 8:43 p.m.?””
A small smile returned to his face.
“Home.””
“Anyone with you?””
“No.””
“Convenient.””
His smile faded.
I turned to Vincent.
“Find out who copied Clare’s badge.””
Vincent nodded.
Then his phone rang again.
He answered.
Listened.
And slowly looked at me.
“Dominic…”
“What?””
His voice dropped.
“We found the person who cloned her badge.””
My fingers tightened around my cane.
“Who was it?””
Vincent looked across the room.
May you like
Toward the one person I had never thought to suspect.
“The person who gave you the brace in the first place.””
