Chapter 10 - The Clinical Record
By midnight, the private VIP wing of St. Jude’s Medical Center was completely locked down. Armed guards in dark suits stood at every elevator bank and emergency stairwell.
Inside Examination Room 4, Dr. Robert Vane—a forensic trauma specialist who had served the Lombardi family for three decades—lowered his digital camera with hands that were visibly unsteady.
"The girl has two hairline fractures on the ninth and tenth ribs," Dr. Vane reported quietly to Massimo in the hallway. "The soft tissue damage is extensive. The bruises on her sides are consistent with blunt force impacts—likely kicks or heavy, compressed squeezing."
Massimo stood against the sterile white wall, his jaw locked like granite. "And Isabella?"
"Three fractured ribs. A dislocated left wrist that was set improperly months ago and healed with deformity. Extensive tissue trauma across her back and shoulders." Dr. Vane handed Massimo the digital tablet displaying high-resolution photographs of the injuries. "This wasn't an argument, Massimo. This was systematic, long-term torture hidden behind heavy clothing and isolation."
Massimo stared at the screen. Each image was a nail in the coffin he was building for Grant Hale.
"Make three copies of every file, every X-ray, every forensic scan," Massimo ordered, his voice terrifyingly calm. "One for the District Attorney. One for our family attorneys. One for me."
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"And the third?" Dr. Vane asked.
"The third," Massimo replied, "is for Grant’s lawyers, so they understand why their client will spend the rest of his natural life in a concrete box."
