Page 75 of The Hidden Heir

A sense of urgency tangled with waves of throat-tightening nausea hits me. I’ve been having more and more of these spells, and the smell of disinfectant is only making it worse. I need to get out of here, but I can’t, not until we get what we came for. Desperation may be the weapon of a cornered animal, yet sometimes it’s the only weapon we have.

“Dr. Cooper, I’m Valentina Petrucci,” I say with a soft smile. “Have you perhaps heard of me?”

The examiner gives me a curious look. “I don’t lend my ear to town gossip, Mrs. Petrucci. But yes.”

“Stefano was the father of my child,” I reply. Victor waits patiently, though I’m surprised he let me take the lead. “Ours was a complicated relationship, but I love our son deeply, with every bone in my body.”

“Of course.”

“His brother took me as his wife because he wanted to keep me and Michael safe, because he wanted to do right by us, and Luca has done all that and more,” I say. “Unfortunately, someone out there is still determined to hurt me.”

Dr. Cooper frowns slightly, adjusting his stance with an uncomfortable sigh. “I’m sorry to hear that, but I’m not sure how I can help in this situation.”

“The people who are trying to hurt me have access to highly sensitive and privileged information,” I tell him. “The kind of information only Stefano Petrucci could provide.”

Maybe we should’ve led with that from the beginning, because Dr. Cooper’s interest is piqued. His confusion is also amplified. His first instinct, however, is to deny the possibility altogether—which is what any reasonable man would do.

“That sounds impossible,” Dr. Cooper says, tilting his head.

“Maybe a little crazy, but not impossible,” Victor says and chuckles softly. “Which is why we need to go over the forensic case file with you, my good friend. You’re the only one who can tell us for sure if Stefano died, or who can, at least, write us a letter instructing the city to exhume Stefano’s body and have his DNA tested to confirm it’s him. That was never done, if I’m not mistaken.”

“Victor, this is insane. My people did their job. They confirmed that the remains belonged to Stefano Petrucci. It should all be in the case file.”

“Why don’t you pull it up then?”

“I could get fired for this,” Dr. Cooper says.

“And I could get killed if we don’t figure out who’s been feeding these people information,” I say with new urgency. “There’s a price on my head, Dr. Cooper, and my son deserves to grow up with his mother. Do you have children of your own?”

The pained look in his eyes says yes. “I do.”

“How many?” I ask.

“Two,” he says.

“How old are they?”

“The boy just graduated from college. The girl is in her freshman year of high school.”

I nod slowly. “I would love to live long enough to see my son graduate from college. To meet his future wife and to cheer him on when he finds success in whatever line of work he chooses for himself… but in order to do that, I need to get to the bottom of this. I need to make sure that Stefano is really dead. It’ll help us get closer to whomever is so determined to kill me.”

“Or it will at least close off one avenue of investigation, so we can focus on the others,” Victor adds.

The doctor thinks about it for a moment, and I’m hoping we’ve done enough. I understand his concerns, I do. I’d probably hesitate, too, if I were in his shoes. But then Victor takes a deep breath and closes the deal.

“This stays between us, Doctor,” he says. “No one will ever know.”

“And if you need an exhumation order after we’re done here, how will I back that up with the office and the judge who signs it?”

Victor smiles broadly. “If you can direct the request to Judge Hennessy, you won’t need to worry about any of that. It will get done, and your name will be protected.”

“Judge Hennessy. Let me guess, another tennis partner?” Dr. Cooper raises an eyebrow.

“A cigar and cognac aficionado, actually. We frequent the same club. Every Thursday evening, I delight him with some of my contraband treasures,” Victor admits with a wry smile.

It dawns on me, and probably on Dr. Cooper, too, that Victor’s connections across the city’s elite run deep. Favors are exchanged, fealties are bought, and people somehow always end up doing what Victor wants them to do. I think it’s more about people willingly doing things for Victor than it is about Victor demanding it from them.

“Alright,” the doctor concedes and turns on the wall-mounted monitor, which is wirelessly connected to his computer.