Chapter 11 - MARCHMarch became an investigation.
Not a villain.
A month.
Dates.
Medication changes.
Therapy hours.
Fatigue scores.
Pain notes.
Dante’s team built a timeline.
March 2: increased neuropathic pain.
March 4: gabapentin increased.
March 7: baclofen started.
March 10: therapy participation described as “markedly reduced.”
March 14: Hannah recommends reassessment due to medication-related fatigue.
March 16: request denied.
March 21: Hannah’s communication restricted.
March 25: formal motor evaluation.
March 29: Hannah terminated.
April 8: medications reduced.
April 17: Rosalie’s alertness improved.
No repeat motor evaluation.
Dr. Chen stared at the timeline.
“This is poor sequencing.”
“Malpractice?”
“Not automatically.”
“Negligence?”
“Maybe.”
Dante hated maybes.
He was learning to tolerate them.
Rosalie asked:
“Could I have walked three years ago?”
Chen answered carefully.
“We cannot know.”
“Could I have stood?”
“Possibly.”
Rosalie looked down.
Dante felt anger rise.
Chen noticed.
“Do not turn possibility into stolen certainty.”
He looked at her.
“Meaning?”
“If you tell yourself she definitely could have walked and someone stole three years, you may create another false story.”
Dante exhaled.
She was right.
Rosalie asked:
“Then what do we know?”
Chen smiled slightly.
“You can activate more movement now than prior summaries indicated.”
“Good.”
“You need rehabilitation.”
“Fine.”
“Progress may be slow.”
“I hate that.”
“Expected.”
Rosalie smiled.
Claire Donnelly met them two days later in a rented conference room.
No guards visible.
Dante honored the request.
Claire was forty-eight.
Short dark hair.
Nurse’s posture.
She looked at Rosalie and immediately cried.
“I’m sorry.”
Rosalie stared.
“For what?”
Claire swallowed.
“For leaving.”
“You left the hospital.”
“Yes.”
“Not me.”
Claire looked down.
“It felt like both.”
Dante let Rosalie lead.
“What happened?”
Claire explained the session.
Hannah distracted Rosalie with a story.
Rosalie lifted.
Marcus witnessed.
Claire witnessed.
Hannah documented.
The next day the note was altered.
“By who?” Dante asked.
“I don’t know.”
“What changed?”
“The phrase ‘voluntary hip extension’ disappeared.”
“What replaced it?”
“‘Inconsistent movement during repositioning.’”
Dante’s jaw tightened.
“Meaning less significant.”
“Yes.”
“Did Moretti order it?”
“I never saw him do it.”
Important.
Claire would not overclaim.
“What did you do?”
“Asked Hannah.”
“She was furious.”
“Then?”
“We went to Moretti.”
Rosalie leaned forward.
“What did he say?”
Claire thought.
“He said the movement was not clinically meaningful.”
“Did he see it?”
“No.”
“Then how did he know?”
Claire looked at Dante.
“That was Hannah’s question.”
“What happened?”
“He told us not to undermine the treatment plan.”
Dante asked:
“And your complaint?”
Claire laughed bitterly.
“I filed it.”
“Moretti reviewed it.”
“Yes.”
“You knew?”
“After.”
“Why resign?”
“Because administration told me to accept the review outcome.”
Dante looked at her.
“Why not contact me?”
Claire’s face changed.
“I tried.”
His chest tightened.
“What?”
“One call.”
“Where?”
“Your office.”
“What happened?”
“A man said medical concerns had to go through Dr. Moretti.”
Dante’s memory shifted.
His own staff.
He had instructed them years ago:
No unsolicited medical opinions. Route everything through Rosalie’s physician.
He had created the wall.
He looked down.
Claire continued:
“I was scared of you.”
Rosalie looked at her father.
Dante accepted it.
“Why?”
Claire almost smiled.
“Your reputation.”
“Fair.”
“And because Moretti said bringing internal disagreement directly to you could lead to people getting hurt.”
Dante’s face went cold.
“Did he say physically?”
“No.”
“Professionally?”
“I assumed.”
Important again.
No exaggeration.
Dante asked:
“Did anyone intentionally keep Rosalie disabled?”
Claire looked shocked.
“No.”
Immediate.
“Then what happened?”
She took a breath.
May you like
“People became invested in being right.”
That sentence landed harder than any accusation.
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