Page 30 of The Library on Plum Island
“What do you mean?” Jennifer asked.
“We could never prove it, but Stanley Wells confronted Daniella in the hospital parking garage late one night to gloat about the evidence they had gathered on her and to give her a copy of it.” Harley’s brows knit tighter together in confusion.
“He sneered, acting all superior as if he and his defense team had me dead to rights,” Daniella explained. “But when I looked at the file, it had all the original medical files for his fiancée.”
“So you think he gave you the wrong file?” Ethan looked at her curiously.
“Yes.” Daniella nodded.
“Wait!” Jennifer’s brow furrowed. “I’m a bit confused.” She looked at Daniella. “You said that Stanley Wells is a PI working for a firm in Los Angeles? As you won the case he brought against you… is he here trying to dredge up dirt on you?” She looked confused. “Is he the person who stalked you?”
A few months after Daniella had moved back to Plum Island, she told Jennifer that she’d been stalked, which is why she had to use her grandmother’s family name, Thornton. But she hadn’t gone into the details, and Jennifer never pried.
“Daniella?” Uncle Sam looked at her pointedly. “Why don’t you start at the beginning?”
Daniella nodded and took a sip of her coffee, which was no longer steamy. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves and ready herself for a trip down memory lane.
“Seven years ago, I lost my husband when he was killed in the line of duty,” Daniella decided to start at the beginning.
“Doctor Tom McKay was a brilliant trauma surgeon and US Marine,” Harley stated proudly. “He was a great man.”
“An excellent father and friend,” Carly added. “Between Tom, Harley, and Uncle Sam, I knew Reef would have excellent male role models despite who his father is.”
“Tom was a great man,” Sam agreed.
Daniella’s heart squeezed as her mind flashed to the photo she’d left beside her bed earlier. “Yes, he was.” She smiled, feeling the tears burn the back of her eyes. “We hadn’t even begun to properly cope with his loss when Emily got meningitis.”
“Alex told me that’s how she lost her hearing,” Ethan said.
“Yes.” Daniella nodded. “Alex is so kind and patient with her. He signs better than most people I know.”
“I know this isn’t in the medical records you have for Alex,” Ethan told her. “But what you just told me explains why Alex bonded with Emily so fast. He lost hearing in one ear due to contracting meningitis when he was twenty.”
“Oh!” Daniella’s eyes widened, and her heart squeezed a little tighter. “That’s why he signs so well?”
“Yes.” Ethan nodded. “He has an experimental cochlear device for his left ear, but doesn’t always use it.”
“I was thinking of cochlear implants for Emily,” Daniella admitted. “But we can’t afford it right now.” She gave a tight smile as there was a time when they could’ve. “We were coping with a lot after Emily recovered, but we found her hearing loss was permanent.”
“Oh, Daniella…” Jennifer’s eyes sparkled with unshed tears. “How awful.”
“I made sure Emily had all the medical and psychological help she needed while ensuring I was there for the emotional support,” Daniella told them. “That’s also when I started studying psychology.”
“Dani’s always been like that,” Sam noted, his eyes shining with pride as he looked at his niece. “She studies something until she completely understands it.” He raised his eyebrows and shook his head. “Thank goodness she started studying psychology back then, or she may not have recognized the signs of the mind games El Creepo was playing with her.”
“It was nearly two years to the day after Tom left us that the hospital I was working at got a new head of neurology after the last one left,” Daniella explained. “The hospital administration board was so excited to have been able to get him on board.”
“He’s supposedly one of the top five neurosurgeons in America,” Sam scoffed. “If you ask me, the man needs his brain checked, as something’s not wired right there.”
“Two years before Tom died, I had been promoted to head of the cardiothoracic department,” Daniella told them. “I was the youngest to hold the position, so I tended to work extra hard in order to prove I was worthy of it, as it’s a great honor at the hospital.”
“You were a cardiothoracic surgeon…” Ethan’s eyes narrowed. “Wait!” His head shot toward Carly. “Daniella was the cardiothoracic surgeon you recommended for my father?”
“Yes,” Carly nodded. “Only Dani never got to see him because she left the hospital.”
“What’s wrong with your father?” Daniella asked Ethan.
“He has a heart problem,” Ethan told her. “My father recently had a valve replacement done.”
