Chapter 4 - Shadows of the Past
The sleek black limousine navigated through the polished glass towers of the financial district, descending into the gritty, abandoned industrial fringe near the old freight railway tracks.
Richard sat across from Leo, watching the young boy look out the tinted window. Inside the car, Isabelle held baby Ethan, who was sleeping peacefully. Behind them followed an ambulance equipped with state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment.
The car stopped beside a dilapidated structure built of rusted corrugated metal and rotting wooden planks. Smoke curled weakly from a tin chimney.
"Is this where you live?" Isabelle asked softly, her eyes filling with tears as she looked at the bleak surroundings.
"It's dry when it doesn't rain too hard," Leo said cheerfully, opening the door. "Follow me."
Richard and Isabelle followed Leo into the dim, drafty shack. On a narrow iron cot covered in thin, patched blankets lay an elderly man. His hair was silver, his face deeply lined with hardship, and his chest heaved with a harsh, raspy cough.
"Leo?" the old man murmured, his eyes straining in the dim light. "Is that you, child? Did you find enough bottles today?"
"I'm back, Grandpa," Leo said, rushing to the bedside to wrap an extra coat around the old man's shoulders. "And I brought visitors. I brought the owner of the wallet."
Henry turned his head slowly. When his tired eyes locked onto Richard Coleman's face, his body stiffened noticeably.
Richard froze in the doorway, staring at the elderly man. The breath caught in Richard's throat.
"Dr... Dr. Henry Vance?" Richard stammered, stepping forward in utter disbelief. "Is that... is that really you?"
The old man closed his eyes briefly and sighed. "It has been a long time, Richard."
Isabelle looked between her husband and the frail old man. "Richard, you know him?"
"Know him?!" Richard cried, dropping to his knees beside the makeshift bed. "He was the chief of pediatric surgery at St. Jude’s fifteen years ago! He was the legendary pioneer who developed the non-invasive infant airway procedure! He saved thousands of children!"
Richard looked at the poverty surrounding the former titan of medicine. "What happened to you, Dr. Vance? Why are you living like this? After you disappeared twelve years ago, everyone said you had left the country!"
Henry shook his head weakly, a bitter smile touching his cracked lips. "I didn't leave, Richard. I was framed. Sabotaged by those who wanted control of the medical research patents I refused to commercialize for exorbitant profit. My license was revoked, my savings were seized in lawsuits, and my name was dragged through the mud. I had nothing left... except my grandson."
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Richard hit his fist against the wooden floorboards, overwhelmed by rage and sorrow. "It was my uncle's firm, wasn't it? Arthur Coleman."
Henry remained silent, which was answer enough.
