contradicted the receipt.
She continued.
Patient restless.
Severe bleeding.
Procedure terminated.
Then, beneath that, another note.
Added later.
Rosalie recognized different ink.
Different pressure.
Further intervention not recommended.
Family informed projectile successfully removed.
Rosalie felt sick.
“You lied.”
Silas stared into the dead fireplace.
“You told his parents you removed it.”
No answer.
“You took their money.”
Silas’s jaw tightened.
“You destroyed his remaining hearing and told them it was the accident.”
“I saved his life.”
Gideon watched Rosalie.
She translated what her father had said.
Gideon’s expression became hard.
Rosalie looked back at Silas.
“How?”
“The fragment was dangerously positioned.”
“Then why operate?”
“Because his father demanded it.”
The doorway creaked.
Merrick shifted.
Rosalie heard something strange in Silas’s explanation.
She looked at the original admission note.
Nearby firearm discharge.
Horse thrown.
Bleeding.
“Who fired the gun?”
Silas’s eyes flickered.
Rosalie saw it.
“Who fired it?”
Silas looked away.
