The next morning, Adam dropped his phone on Sophie’s lap,
opened to the CNN website. The headline read: Manhattan
Doctor Fatally Shot.
Breaking News – March 28, 2012, 4:37 PM EDT
A Manhattan doctor was shot and killed at New York’s
Metro Hospital. Earlier in the day, Dr. Champlain had per
formed an abortion on the girlfriend of the gunman. She was
eight weeks pregnant.
New York Police Commissioner William Brady said thirty
eight-year-old Steven Campari of Jackson Heights came into
the family planning section of Metro Hospital, located in a
building adjacent to the main hospital. He was able to access
the clinic via a hallway that connects the clinic to the main
hospital. According to witnesses, Mr. Campari stepped up to
the main desk and asked to see the doctor who had termi
nated his girlfriend’s pregnancy. The nurse at the desk pressed
a silent alarm button to alert hospital security and the police
department of a possible threat.
The gunman then pulled out his handgun. People started
yelling and hiding from the gunman. Dr. Champlain attempted
to escape down the hallway to the safety of the hospital. The
gunman shot him in the back as he was running away.
Police arrived and fired at the gunman, who sustained
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life-threatening injuries. He died in the ambulance on the way
to the hospital’s emergency room.
Questions of security at Metro Hospital have become
an issue lately. While there are security officers stationed at
the main entrance, there is no metal detector that may have
alerted security personnel to the concealed weapon.
The article went on about the doctor, his family, and all the
staff, who would greatly miss the beloved physician.
Sophie swiped right to the next story. Prominent Obstetrician
Charged with Medical Fraud.
She took in every word. When she was done, she handed
back his phone while holding up her other hand to high-five
Adam.
“Adam, we did it! Mitch Wagner has been arrested and
charged. WMI has washed their hands of him, claiming they had
nothing to do with his actions.” Sophie exhaled a long breath
of relief.
Sophie’s phone rang. Her face lit up with surprise when she
answered. It was Kim. Sophie started peppering her with ques
tions. When she realized Kim wasn’t answering her, she stopped
to ask, “Where are you?”
Kim answered in a quiet voice.
“Kim, what’s the matter? This doesn’t even sound like you.
I’ve been so worried about you. Rihanna said you’d been in a
terrible car accident. Suzanne said that when she talked to your
parents, they told her that you’d gone away on some kind of a
volunteer trip.”
In a hushed tone, Kim answered, “I can’t talk about it. Not
now. But I’m okay. I’m coming back.”
“Why can’t you talk? What’s going on?”
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“Just stay safe and keep Danny safe. Keep your eyes open and
your guard up.”
“What are you talking about? Kim, it’s done. Mitch is gone.
He’s going to be put away.”
Click.
“Kim? Kim, are you there?”
There was only silence on the other end.
Sophie and Adam met Rihanna and Sheldon at Rihanna’s
apartment. They talked about the outcome of Mitch’s hearing
and the shooting. Sheldon cracked open a bottle of champagne,
then explained to the other three what he knew.
“Even though everybody has wondered if WMI was behind
Mitch’s actions, it wasn’t them. They’re a good company. It’s
Mitch who was the bad egg. He caused all the problems for
you guys.” Sheldon looked at Adam and Sophie. “The attack
on Adam, the car hitting Sophie, the slashed tires, even the
attack on your dog—he was the mastermind behind everything.
He was able to do it all with the help of a couple of outliers
who worked at WMI. Mitch’s high school stoner friend, along
with some other lowlifes, were happy to do whatever Mitch paid
them to do.”
Sophie and Adam clinked glasses.
“It’s a bittersweet win,” Sophie said. “I’m glad we nailed him,
but I would trade it all for having never entered Metro Hospital
in the first place.”
Adam squeezed her hand.
Sheldon went on to explain that WMI had heard about
Mitch’s census scheme but didn’t know exactly what it entailed.
All the threats and attacks were Mitch’s way of telling Sophie
and Adam to back off. Leave him to do his thing, and Danny
would be okay.
“Why didn’t he help get us transferred, get us away from him?
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If we had been able to transfer, he could have kept doing what he
was doing in triage with no danger of us catching him.”
“Because the ever-controlling Mitch wanted to keep an eye
on you two. He’d rather force you into silence than let you out
of his sight.”
Her intuition had been right. Sheldon was the good brother;
Mitch was the evil one. Charlie, Rita, and Josh were both or
neither; they flew in whichever direction the wind blew. It was
Mitch—misogynistic, miserable Mitch—who had caused her life
to forever change. He had taken away three and a half months
of her life, time she could never have back. That was the hard
one to swallow. The pain of missing that time with Danny left a
visceral ache.
She looked around the room at her husband and her two new
friends and felt content for the first time since this whole debacle
had started.
Sheldon spoke again, raising his champagne glass. “I’d like to
toast to a new and better future.”
“Here, here,” they all replied. Even Isabelle cooed from
Rihanna’s arms.
Dr. Sheldon cleared his throat, getting Adam and Sophie’s
full attention. After a dramatic pause, he announced, “Rihanna
and I are getting married.”
Sophie grabbed Rihanna and hugged her. “Congratulations!”
Whispering in her ear, she added, “Welcome to the United
States, Mrs. Vandewater.”
“Congratulations, you two,” Adam said, shaking Sheldon’s
hand. He then took Sophie’s champagne glass from her hands
and set it on the table. “I hate to interrupt the party, but we have
to go.”
Sophie glanced at the time. “Oh yes, we do. Thanks so much,
and congratulations again. We’ll see you guys later.”
