PART 2 — THE DOCTOR NEXT DOOR
The following morning, Arthur knocked on my door at exactly 7:00.
I was sitting at his kitchen table, staring at a cup of coffee I hadn’t touched.
“You ready?”
“For what?”
“Your appointment.”
I almost laughed.
“Arthur, I can’t afford some private specialist.”
He gave me a look.
“Who said you’re paying?”
Twenty minutes later, we were driving downtown.
The building didn’t look like a regular medical office.
It was a private reproductive medicine center with security at the entrance, a marble lobby, and a wall filled with framed photographs of doctors standing beside famous patients and international medical organizations.
I stopped walking when I saw the name above the reception desk.
REED CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE
I turned toward Arthur.
“Are you sure you brought me to the right place?”
He nodded.
The receptionist looked up.
“Good morning, Dr. Reed.”
I froze.
Arthur simply nodded.
“Good morning.”
I stared at him.
“Dr. Reed?”
He sighed.
“I was hoping we’d have more time before you figured that out.”
The quiet veteran next door wasn’t just a retired soldier.
Arthur Reed was one of the country’s most respected physicians in reproductive medicine, a decorated military surgeon who had later founded one of the largest privately funded medical research foundations in the country.
His name appeared on hospital buildings.
Medical textbooks.
Research grants.
News interviews.
I looked at him in disbelief.
“You’re famous.”
He shrugged.
“I prefer neighbor.”
Then a woman in a white coat approached.
“Sloan?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Dr. Naomi Keller. Arthur asked me to review your records.”
She glanced toward Arthur.
“We’ve already requested your complete treatment history.”
My stomach tightened.
“Why?”
Dr. Keller looked directly at me.
“Because there are inconsistencies.”
PART 3 — THE FILE THAT SHOULDN’T HAVE EXISTED
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