Former physician disappeared on Mount Rainier, four years on the revelation stunned everybody

Charlotte’s vision blurred with tears. Four years of not knowing, and now. The remains are lodged between rocks in a ravine.

Recovery teams are working to, to bring him home. I need to prepare you. After four years of exposure to weather and wildlife, identification will require DNA testing, and much of the, much is missing.

Charlotte nodded, tears flowing freely now. But I can bury him. I can give him a proper funeral.

Yes, Morrison said softly. You can? Charlotte wiped her eyes. What about Harrison’s accomplices? He’s naming names, trying to get a deal.

Two men who worked maintenance at his practice did his dirty work. We have units picking them up now. The FBI is getting involved, given the interstate nature of the organ trafficking.

This is big, Mrs. Henley. Your husband uncovered something that goes beyond just one corrupt doctor. Charlotte thought about Robert’s final week, the shaking hands Sarah had noticed, the secret attorney visits, the weight of knowledge he’d carried alone.

He’d known how dangerous Harrison was, but felt morally obligated to stop him. He’d tried to protect her by keeping her ignorant of the danger. He knew they might kill him, Charlotte said quietly.

That’s why he didn’t tell me about the meeting. He was protecting me. Your husband was a brave man, Morrison said.

He could have taken the money, looked the other way. Instead, he chose to do the right thing. He always did, Charlotte whispered.

It’s who he was. Later, as Charlotte signed her statement, she thought about the two men she’d lost that day. The husband who’d died four years ago trying to stop a monster, and the illusion of the friend she thought she’d known.

Harrison had sat at their dinner table, laughed at Robert’s jokes, played the role of respected physician while running a criminal empire that destroyed lives. But Robert had seen through the mask, and even knowing the cost might be his life, he’d stood up to corruption. He’d gathered evidence, consulted lawyers, prepared to bring Harrison down properly, legally.

He’d died on the mountain he loved, pushed by men he’d trusted, but he died with his integrity intact. Charlotte left the police station as the sun was setting, painting Mount Rainier in shades of pink and gold. Somewhere on that mountain, recovery teams were bringing Robert home.

The not knowing was over. The questions were answered. Her tears came fresh, but mixed with the grief was pride.

Robert had died a hero, even if no one but her would ever know it. He’d sacrificed himself to stop an evil that had festered behind a healer’s mask. She drove home slowly, already planning the funeral Robert deserved.

A proper burial with full honors, with the truth of his courage finally known. Harrison would face justice. His accomplices would be caught.

The network would be dismantled. And Robert would finally rest in peace. His final battle won.