Chapter 4 - The Revelation
Dr. Voss didn't look startled. He didn't drop the tablet. He simply lowered it to the desk, took off his wire-rimmed glasses, and folded them with slow, deliberate precision.
"Curiosity, Ms. Brennan, has a rather unfortunate habit of shortening a person's lifespan," Voss said softly, his voice devoid of the nervous, frantic energy he had displayed in the medical wing.
Alice instinctively took a step back toward the doorway, but Nero had already shifted his massive bulk inside the room, completely blocking the exit. The mastiff’s low growl vibrated in the small office, his amber eyes fixed squarely on the doctor.
"You're not just a personal physician," Alice said, her heart hammering against her ribs.
"I am a physician," Voss corrected calmly, leaning back in his leather chair. "And I am also the man who keeps Stefano Marchetti's heart beating just long enough for his enemies to figure out how to inherit his empire without triggering a total financial collapse."
Alice’s mind raced. The fire in the west wing, the shattered windows, the timed breach—it hadn't been an external assassination attempt by a rival syndicate. It had been an inside job.
"You sabotaged the security grid," Alice whispered, realization dawning. "You let them in."
"I merely streamlined a transition that was long overdue," Voss replied smoothly, standing up from the desk. He walked slowly toward her, stopping just out of Nero's reach. "Stefano is a dinosaur. He wants to legitimize the syndicate, clean the books, and turn Marchetti Holdings into a boring, law-abiding conglomerate. Men like that ruin fortunes. Some of our primary investors prefer the old ways—and they pay quite well for stability."
Nero’s teeth bared, a low, murderous sound building in his throat as Voss took another half-step forward. The doctor’s calm exterior finally cracked slightly; a bead of sweat rolled down his temple as he acknowledged the lethal barrier between himself and the door.
"You can't kill me," Alice said, trying to keep her voice from shaking. "The entire mansion knows I'm here. Danny Falcone saw me go to the guest suite."
"Danny is loyal to a ghost," Voss smiled thinly. "And by sunrise, Stefano will have suffered a sudden, tragic cardiac arrest while recovering from his injuries. A grieving physician administering post-operative care in the dead of night makes for a very clean, very believable death certificate."
Before Voss could reach into his coat pocket, Nero lunged.
It wasn't a warning growl this time. It was an explosive, missile-like launch.
Voss scrambled backward, tripping over a rolling chair and crashing violently into a bank of computer monitors. Sparks showered across the floor as the screens shattered. Nero pinned the doctor's chest with one massive paw, his jaws hovering inches from Voss's throat, waiting for a single command.
Alice didn't hesitate. She grabbed the scorched leather notepad Nero had brought her earlier, flipped it open to the last handwritten page, and scanned the frantic scribbles.
Her breath caught.
It wasn't just a financial ledger. It was a handwritten confession detailing Voss's systematic poisoning of Stefano’s primary accounts—and a scheduled hit coordinated for tonight.
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"Nero," Alice said clearly. "Hold."
The mastiff froze, his chest heaving, his eyes never leaving the terrified doctor pinned beneath him.
