North Ridge
Chapter 07 - North Ridge
North Ridge Recovery Center stood behind pine trees and a guarded gate.
The sign advertised trauma care for veterans, but most patients were civilians under private guardianship.
Detective Ortiz entered with a warrant.
Gabriel accompanied her only as a family representative and security consultant. He followed every instruction.
In the east wing, they found Patient M-14.
Margaret Vale was seventy-three years old.
Her silver hair had been cut short. Her room contained no family photographs, phone, or personal records.
She remembered Andrew Parker.
She remembered the first Harbor House.
She also remembered Richard presenting documents that transferred her company.
“I refused,” she said. “Then the doctor wrote that refusal proved I was irrational.”
Margaret had attempted to contact Evelyn many times.
Letters were returned.
Staff told her both siblings wanted no contact.
Evelyn later claimed she believed Margaret died in a residential fire.
The death certificate came from Vale Health Partners.
Margaret examined Elena’s face.
“You look like Andrew.”
“He was my father.”
“He said his daughter would understand numbers better than powerful men understood consequences.”
Elena smiled through tears.
Margaret had hidden copies of her engineering reports inside the original Harbor House foundation walls.
The key was a sequence of room numbers.
The old residence was scheduled for demolition in three days under a Vale redevelopment contract.
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Mason had accelerated the demolition after Elena discovered the missing money.
The evidence Richard feared was about to disappear.
