Chapter 12 - The Antidote in Hale’s Words
Cara kept Hale talking.
“What was in the wine?”
“You think I mixed it?”
“You removed the hospital drug.”
“That was only to make the pulse disappear.”
“So the poison came before he arrived.”
Hale smiled.
“Ask the person who poured the drink.”
Agent Brooks sent the statement to her team.
Cara returned to Dominic.
The toxicologist reviewed every symptom again.
Paralysis.
Slow heart rate.
Preserved awareness during brief periods.
A nearly undetectable pulse.
Cara remembered Dominic whispering “wine.”
She also remembered his fingertips remaining warmer than expected during the apparent flatline.
The toxicologist suspected a rare marine toxin imported through illegal markets.
No direct antidote existed.
Treatment required ventilation, circulation support, and time.
The additional hospital medication had pushed Dominic closer to death.
But if they supported him long enough, his body could clear the poison.
Hale had known that.
He declared death before recovery could begin.
Cara and the team stabilized Dominic again.
A ventilator supported his breathing.
His pulse remained weak but present.
Agent Brooks checked the drive.
The voice-authorization folder contained the identity of the person who served the wine.
Dominic had to unlock it.
He could not speak while intubated.
Sofia asked whether they could remove the tube briefly.
Cara refused.
“He may not breathe on his own.”
“If we don’t open the file, Lorenzo takes control at five.”
“It is 4:37,” Vincent said.
Brooks proposed another method.
Dominic’s security system also accepted a pre-registered hand pattern and eye scan.
The eye scan could work while he remained ventilated.
Cara warned that the stimulation might destabilize him.
Dominic opened his eyes when Sofia spoke.
She explained the choice.
He blinked once for yes.
Cara positioned the tablet.
Dominic focused on the screen.
The scanner accepted his eyes.
He moved two fingers across the sensor in the required pattern.
The final folder opened.
A video appeared.
It showed a private dinner earlier that night.
Lorenzo poured wine into Dominic’s glass after the waiter left.
Marco stood near the door.
Dr. Hale entered through a side room before Dominic became ill.
The meeting had occurred inside a private suite owned by hospital administrator Merrick.
The conspiracy was complete.
Lorenzo.
Marco.
Hale.
Merrick.
And one additional person seated beyond the camera frame.
The video shifted.
Sofia’s face went white.
The final conspirator was Vincent’s longtime legal partner, Anthony Greco.
Anthony knew every detail of the federal agreement.
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He had been the person who leaked the sunrise meeting.
👉 The betrayal did not stop with enemies and corrupt doctors—it had begun inside Dominic’s most trusted legal office.
