Chapter 4 - The Woman Who Knew Why Arthur Had Been Spared
Arthur spent the night listening to the recording.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Nora finally took the device away.
“You're going to destroy the battery.”
“I need to hear it.”
“You heard it.”
“I need to understand it.”
“Then stop listening and start thinking.”
Arthur turned toward her.
Nora realized she had crossed a line.
But he didn't get angry.
Instead, he asked:
“What do you think?”
She hesitated.
“I think the explosion wasn't meant to kill you.”
“What else?”
“I think you were meant to see something.”
“I was blinded.”
“Exactly.”
Arthur went silent.
The explosion had taken his sight.
But perhaps that had been intentional.
Someone wanted Arthur unable to identify something.
Or someone.
The question became:
What had he seen before the blast?
Arthur remembered only fragments.
A warehouse.
A metal door.
His brother Daniel arguing with someone.
A woman's voice.
And a red folder.
Nora searched old records.
Daniel Kane had been Arthur's younger brother.
He had died three years before the explosion.
Officially, an overdose.
But Arthur had never believed it.
Daniel had been investigating missing money from the Kane organization.
Perhaps he had found something.
Perhaps he had found the same room.
That afternoon, Nora found a bank transfer.
A payment made from an offshore account.
Recipient:
Evelyn Shaw Medical Consulting.
Arthur stared.
“How much?”
“Three million.”
“When?”
“Two weeks before the explosion.”
Arthur's expression became empty.
“She was treating me after the explosion.”
“She was already being paid before.”
Silence.
“Find her.”
They did.
Evelyn Shaw had disappeared.
No license.
No current address.
No medical records.
It was as though she had never existed.
Then Nora found something buried in an old hospital archive.
A handwritten note.
Patient Arthur Kane. Vision prognosis: irreversible.
Signed:
Evelyn Shaw.
Date:
Two days after the explosion.
Nora stared.
“That means she knew.”
Arthur's voice was quiet.
“She knew I'd be blind.”
Before the explosion.
Nora looked at him.
“How?”
They had their answer three hours later.
A retired nurse agreed to meet them.
Her name was Helen Moore.
She remembered Arthur.
She remembered Evelyn.
And she remembered something nobody else had asked about.
“Dr. Shaw wasn't treating you,” Helen said.
Arthur frowned.
“What was she doing?”
“She was watching you.”
“Why?”
Helen looked at Nora.
“Because she wanted to know whether you remembered what happened that night.”
Arthur's face hardened.
“What did I see?”
Helen hesitated.
“Your brother.”
Daniel.
Alive.
Arthur stopped breathing.
“That's impossible.”
“I saw him.”
“When?”
“The night of the explosion.”
Nora looked at Arthur.
Helen continued.
“Daniel came into the hospital before you.”
Arthur gripped the chair.
“What happened to him?”
“He was bleeding.”
“Where did he go?”
Helen shook her head.
“Dr. Shaw took him.”
Arthur's voice became dangerous.
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
Nora stood.
“Did he say anything?”
Helen nodded.
“He kept repeating one sentence.”
“What sentence?”
Helen looked directly at Arthur.
“Tell Arthur the explosion wasn't an accident.”
Arthur's entire body went still.
Then Helen added:
“And he said one more thing.”
“What?”
“Don't trust Vincent.”
The room went silent.
Arthur turned toward his security chief.
May you like
Vincent's face had gone pale.
---
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