Chapter 3 - THE MONDAY INJECTIONS
The vial was sealed inside an evidence container.
Luca’s independent toxicologist arrived before midnight.
Dr. Naomi Chen examined the label and shook her head.
“This is supposed to be a vitamin compound.”
“What is it actually?” Elena asked.
Naomi looked toward Luca.
“I need the laboratory to confirm it.”
“But based on the odor and viscosity, it may contain the same compound found in his blood.”
Elena stood beside the study window.
Maya was sleeping in a protected guest room with two female guards outside.
Tommy had refused to leave until Elena promised he could return the next day.
Luca remained behind his desk.
He felt as if the walls were shifting around him.
Adrian had administered one injection every Monday for twelve years.
He described them as treatments that protected Luca’s muscles from further deterioration.
Luca had accepted the needle without question.
The injections had not protected him.
They had maintained the paralysis.
Naomi examined Luca’s medical records.
Several pages were missing.
Dosage charts had been rewritten.
Laboratory results contained dates that did not match hospital archives.
Someone had altered his history so thoroughly that even new specialists relied on false information.
Elena placed both hands on the desk.
“Why would Adrian do this?”
Luca answered without looking at her.
“Money.”
“Control.”
“Orders.”
“Possibly all three.”
His empire had changed after the collapse.
Before the wheelchair, Luca personally inspected warehouses, met dock supervisors, and negotiated directly with neighborhood leaders.
Afterward, he depended on reports.
Other men became his eyes and legs.
One of those men was his uncle, Salvatore Costello.
Salvatore had managed daily operations for twelve years.
He was respected, disciplined, and always loyal in public.
He also recommended Adrian Bell after Luca’s collapse.
Luca called his security chief, Gabriel Torres.
“Where is my uncle?”
Gabriel checked his phone.
“Mr. Salvatore left the city this morning.”
“Destination?”
“His driver says Wisconsin.”
“Find the driver.”
The driver was located forty minutes later.
He had been paid in cash and dismissed at a highway rest stop.
Salvatore transferred into another vehicle.
Luca ordered every property connected to his uncle watched.
Then Naomi called from the temporary laboratory.
The vial contained the same nerve-suppressing compound.
It also contained a second substance designed to weaken muscle tissue slowly.
Luca looked at his legs beneath the desk.
Twelve years of injections had not merely kept him seated.
They had been destroying his chance to stand.
Elena moved beside him.
“We should take Maya away from here.”
“You should.”
She searched his expression.
“But you don’t want us to go.”
“No.”
“Wanting is not enough.”
“I know.”
Luca opened the desk drawer and removed a pistol.
Elena’s face tightened.
He handed it to Gabriel instead of keeping it.
“No weapon enters the rooms where Maya sleeps.”
Gabriel nodded.
Luca looked at Elena.
“I cannot promise this house is safe.”
“But I can promise I will tell you every danger I discover.”
A phone rang on the desk.
The call came from an internal security line.
Gabriel answered.
His expression hardened.
Adrian Bell had been found inside the estate chapel.
He was unconscious.
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A handwritten note had been pinned to his coat.
It read, “THE DOCTOR WAS ONLY THE NEEDLE.”
