Chapter 20 - THE EMAILThe email arrived last.
A hospital archivist found it during restoration.
From Moretti to St. Catherine administration:
Subject: R.V. documentation.
Please avoid emphasizing isolated assisted standing/hip extension in family updates until reproducibility can be established. Given Mr. Vescari’s expectations, premature discussion may create unnecessary pressure on the treatment team.
Dante stared.
There it was.
His name.
His reputation.
Used as justification.
Moretti had worried Dante would pressure staff if he heard hopeful information.
Perhaps true.
So he withheld it.
That decision became a feedback loop.
Dante demanded certainty.
Doctors hid uncertainty.
Dante heard certainty.
Then demanded more.
Rosalie read the email.
“Wow.”
Dante looked at her.
“What?”
“You scared them.”
“Yes.”
“Enough that they hid good news.”
“Potential good news.”
She smiled.
“Look at you.”
“Accuracy.”
“Annoying.”
Dante turned serious.
“I’m sorry.”
Rosalie looked at him.
“For what?”
“For making my fear everybody else’s problem.”
She thought.
“You were scared?”
“Every day.”
She stared.
Dante rarely admitted fear.
“When?”
“Since the first doctor said you might not walk.”
Rosalie looked down.
“I thought you were angry.”
“I was.”
“At me?”
“No.”
“But it felt like it.”
Dante closed his eyes.
That hurt.
“I know.”
She sighed.
“Stop saying that.”
He smiled faintly.
Then she asked:
“What are you going to do about the email?”
“Nothing.”
Her eyes widened.
“Nothing?”
“The review already has it.”
“No threatening?”
“No.”
“No visiting Moretti at night?”
Dante stared.
“Who tells you these ideas?”
“Guards talk.”
“I need new guards.”
Rosalie laughed.
Then:
“Good.”
“Why?”
“Because if you threaten him, everyone will say the truth only exists because they fear you.”
Dante looked at his daughter.
That sentence would later change more than this case.
He nodded.
“Then we do it your way.”
“Lawyers?”
“Unfortunately.”
“Boring.”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
The email became evidence in ongoing review.
No violence.
No secret retaliation.
Dante hated every minute.
Rosalie loved reminding him.
May you like
It became a joke.
Growth sometimes looked like not doing the thing everyone expected.
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