Beautifully Designed

Chapter 22 - After-Effects

Drawing to a close. . .finally.
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The Daily Warble, December 23rd, 2015

Satorski & Satorski: Medical Malpractice

Doctor Peter Satorski, CEO of Satorski & Satorski has been convicted of medical malpractice on numerous patients in the past ten years. Detective Scott Brown had been interviewed after the arrest of Doctor Satorski Friday afternoon, September 23rd, 2015, around 3:00 p.m.

"We had no idea what this guy had been doing for ten years because nobody came forth with this information until now. And no one came forth because they were either dead or on their death bed."

Police arrested Satorski and over 100 plus staff members of the medical building after a lawyer came forward with the research and testing data that had been undergoing in the laboratory. The information hasn't been clearly stated as to what specifically the testing consisted of, but it's evident that many families had lost loved ones without knowing the truth behind their actual deaths because of the research center creating false records of the deceased. Satorski & Satorski had a lawsuit filed against them in previous years but had won the case and effectively cleared up any misconstrued slander towards the company.

Satorski was sentenced to life in prison on multiple counts of homicide, medical malpractice, and murder in the second degree. His aforementioned sentence was ruled by Judge Gary Kimball on December 18th.

"Dad, you did it!"

I dropped the newspaper on the table and looked up at him.

Dad had a small smile on his face, his eyes turned toward the coffee mug in his hand. Instead of looking happy, he seemed unbearably tired. It may have been wintertime but he looked uncharacteristically pale lately. White as chalk.

"Dad?" I said.

He looked up at me. "I was too late, Ethel. All those people. . .ten years. God, was I too late."

I could detect the sadness in his eyes. The guilt. And he didn't deserve that.

"Dad," I said, placing my hand on top of his. There was a gauntness to his limb. "You sound like a cop who failed. It wasn't even your job in the first place. You couldn't have known what he did all those years before."

Dad looked up, hopeful.

"But you did even better by stopping Satorski from hurting anyone else. You saved hundreds of more people, Dad. Don't forget that part."

When I finished, he smiled. Pulled his hand out from underneath mine and pushed a strand of hair out of my face.

"What would I have done without you, kid?"

"Suffered terribly with only Elias, that's for sure."

Dad barked out a belly-clutching laugh. I started to laugh with him, thoroughly enjoying our moment together. But when he settled down, the sorrow came back into his features.

"I'm sorry about your friend," he said genuinely.

I felt a sharp ache in my chest, a familiar pain that assaulted me every time I thought of Jason. The ache that appeared every damn day because either I remembered him or because Dad apologized to me about him. Either way, it was there. And it fucking hurt. It seemed like the only thing I ever felt anymore. My body was numb to everything but the agony.

"Don't be," I told him. "We did what we had to do."

Dad removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. His eyes remained shut as he said, "I think about him every day. The hell he must have went through with that sick bastard."