Chapter 3 - The Audit of Shadows
The gala dragged on, a slow-motion car crash of polite conversation. Matteo didn't wait for the end. He signaled his head of security, a man named Russo who had been with him since the waterfront days.
"I want everything," Matteo whispered as Russo leaned in. "Adrien Vale. His finances, his patients, the records of every person he’s ever 'cured.' And I want to know why a man with a multi-million dollar salary is playing games in his own home."
He spent the next hour in his private study, the door locked. By 9:00 p.m., the digital folders began to populate his screen. They weren't pretty. Adrien Vale’s record was pristine, but the records of his nurses and his assistants were riddled with resignations and "medical leaves" due to trauma.
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The surgeon was a master of his domain. He used his status as a life-saver to insulate himself from investigation. If someone accused him of abuse, he accused them of insanity. It was a perfect, self-sustaining loop of cruelty.
Matteo felt the weight of his own responsibility. He had watched Arya fade, day by day, and he had told himself it was "professional distance." He had called his apathy "respect." He realized that in his world, neutrality was just another form of betrayal.
