Chapter 12 - THE RESEARCH SUBJECT
The consent form looked real.
My signature.
My date of birth.
Initials on each page.
I recognized the day I supposedly signed.
Victor and I had been in Aspen.
I remembered signing hotel papers and a foundation donor form.
Not research consent.
Digital forensics showed the signature image came from that donor form.
Someone inserted it into the medical-research packet.
The study used de-identified data publicly.
Internally, Voss knew which record belonged to me.
He tracked my episodes.
Blood chemistry.
ECGs.
Medication changes.
Why?
Research alone could explain some monitoring.
But one internal note read:
Observed event after controlled environmental trigger.
No approved study protocol allowed inducing my symptoms.
The phrase could refer to stress testing in clinic.
Except the date matched Arthur’s winter fundraiser.
The medical board suspended Voss’s license pending full hearing.
Federal health investigators joined.
The Blackwood Foundation issued a statement separating itself from Voss.
That was difficult because Arthur chaired the grant committee.
Arthur resigned from the foundation.
Not from ownership.
He still denied criminal intent.
My mother’s old records entered review too.
Investigators asked whether Voss had conducted similar unauthorized observation with Celeste.
No evidence established that.
The study began after her death.
Her ECG was used as family-history reference.
That required estate authorization.
Arthur had signed it as former spouse despite lacking authority.
Another boundary ignored.
I authorized an independent ethics review rather than pulling everything immediately.
Patient research involving others should not be destroyed because my consent was forged.
The review separated legitimate participants from my illegally included data.
My data was removed where possible.
Published analyses were corrected if necessary.
Science did not need to be burned with Voss.
Adrian testified before the medical board.
He admitted noticing discrepancies months before escalating.
“Why didn’t you report sooner?” the board asked.
“I thought they reflected fragmented care.”
“When did suspicion become concern?”
“When events clustered around family functions.”
“Why not contact authorities then?”
“I lacked evidence of intentional exposure.”
“Why enter the gala undercover?”
“Because the warning described imminent risk.”
“Would you do it again?”
Adrian paused.
“No.”
That surprised me later.
“You regret being there?”
“No.”
“I’d use emergency channels more aggressively and bring law enforcement into the decision earlier.”
The board appreciated that answer.
So did I.
He was not building himself into my savior.
That made my feelings toward him more complicated.
Yes.
Feelings.
I hated them.
I was still married legally.
Traumatized.
Dependent on his medical expertise.
Any romantic involvement would be unethical while he treated me.
He recognized it before I said anything.
At discharge follow-up, he transferred my cardiology care to Dr. Lena Morris’s electrophysiology team.
“Why?”
“You need independent care.”
“I trust you.”
“That is exactly why.”
The boundary hurt.
I respected it.
Then the NorthStar audit found that Arthur’s exposure was larger than expected.
If the acquisition failed permanently, his family office faced margin calls that could force sale of Blackwood shares.
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Arthur had not only risked the company.
He risked losing control of his own stake.
