Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Dante
The doctor confirms there are no signs of sexual abuse.
Except for the presence of a powerful drug in Tatiana’s blood sample, the tests show no abnormalities.
Tatiana’s relief eats a hole in my chest. It’s my fault she has to go through this ordeal.
Because I didn’t protect her, she has to deal with unspeakable trauma and suffer the death of her parents all over again.
I’m beating myself up over my failure while I wait in my study.
Tatiana is getting dressed for her appointment with the psychiatrist at the hospital.
Dr. Chad comes with the highest recommendations.
She has an excellent track record. I checked out her credentials and her patient reviews.
The fact that the waiting period for an appointment is months long speaks for itself.
As a close friend of my GP, she moved appointments to squeeze Tatiana in.
My GP already briefed Dr. Chad on Tatiana’s condition. Given the diagnosis, the psychiatrist scheduled a CT scan and a few other tests.
A knock on the door pulls me from my thoughts.
Kent enters, wearing his signature denim jacket and worn boots.
He stops in front of my desk. “How’s she doing?”
“Physically, she’s fine.”
He flexes and curls his fingers like a boxer preparing for a fight. “Reino says she can’t remember what happened to her.”
Pushing back from my desk, I get to my feet. “Her memory is gone.”
He follows my actions with a sharp gaze as I stalk to the window to look out over the backyard where Emily is playing with Noah in the pool.
“How much time has she lost, Dante?”
Admitting it is the equivalent of pushing a blade into my stomach and gutting myself. “Four years.” I press the heels of my palm on my eyes. “She remembers nothing from the night before her parents died until now. Four years of her memory.”
“Will she get it back?”
Noah jumps into the shallow end of the pool, splashing a laughing Emily who catches him in the water.
I turn around and face Kent. “The psychiatrist is better equipped to answer that question than me.”
He’s quiet as he digests the statement.
We’re thinking the same thing. Tatiana’s memory loss means she won’t remember where the necklace is because she hid it after the death of her parents.
Right now, I don’t give a fuck about the necklace. All I want is for her to recover. The thoughtful expression on Kent’s face tells me he’s very much concerned about finding the necklace, which seems more improbable than ever.
“There are other ways,” I say. “We’ll just have to dig harder.”
He shrugs. “If she remembers anything, I want to know.” He dips his head, holding my gaze through hooded eyes. “She got away on my shift.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll find the men who attacked us. I’ll let you do the honors when we finish them.”
He gives a tight nod. “She ran, Dante. I don’t know what happened to her, but whatever that was, it must’ve went down after she escaped. I’ll never betray you. You know me.”
I do. Yet I can’t help the doubt that makes me question his honesty.
My promise is charged with a double-sided meaning. “You’ll be the first to know if I learn anything.”
And if I find out he was lying to me, he’ll regret the day he was born.