Chapter 9: The Doctor Who Signed My Mother's Death
For a moment, nobody moved.
Daniel looked almost amused.
Dr. Harris looked furious.
Laura stood so quickly that her glass fell from the table and shattered against the floor.
"Daniel," she whispered.
He glanced at the broken glass.
"Careful. You're making a mess.""
I stared at him.
"What are you doing here?""
He loosened his tie.
"That's a funny question, considering you're in someone else's house.""
Thomas moved closer to me.
"Stay where you are.""
Daniel laughed.
"Still pretending you're important, Thomas?""
Dr. Harris stepped forward.
"Laura, we need to talk.""
I turned toward him.
"You should probably start by explaining why your name appears on my mother's medical records.""
His eyes shifted toward Daniel.
Then back to me.
"I have no idea what you're talking about.""
"Really?""
I removed my phone and showed him the photograph from Vanessa's memory card.
His face changed.
Only slightly.
But enough.
"Where did you get that?""
"Does it matter?""
"That document is confidential.""
"So is my medical record. Apparently, that didn't stop you.""
Daniel stepped between us.
"Nia, this is becoming ridiculous.""
I looked at him.
"You arranged for him to change my medication.""
"That's an outrageous accusation.""
"Then why did you pay him twelve thousand dollars the day before my mother died?""
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
Dr. Harris turned toward Laura.
"Did you give her the files?""
Laura began crying.
"I didn't have a choice.""
Daniel's expression hardened.
"You always have a choice, Laura.""
She looked at him.
"Not when you threaten my family.""
Silence filled the room.
Thomas moved toward the door.
"We're leaving.""
Daniel didn't stop us.
Instead, he smiled.
"Of course. Run away. That's what you people do best.""
I turned back.
"One day, Daniel, you're going to have to answer for everything.""
He tilted his head.
"Be careful what you wish for.""
Thomas guided me outside.
We didn't speak until we were inside the SUV.
Then he locked the doors.
"That was a mistake.""
"I know.""
"No, Nia. You don't understand. Daniel wasn't supposed to know we were coming.""
I looked at him.
"How did he get there?""
Thomas started the engine.
"Someone told him.""
I thought about Laura.
"She betrayed us.""
"Maybe. Or maybe she was being watched.""
My phone rang.
Evelyn.
I answered.
"Did you find her?""
"Yes," I said.
"But Daniel and Dr. Harris were already there.""
Evelyn went quiet.
Then she asked, "Did Laura say anything?""
"She said my mother died because she discovered who Daniel really was.""
Evelyn exhaled.
"Then we need to move quickly.""
"What happened?""
"The trust administrator has received another petition. Daniel is claiming you are being manipulated by your mother's former employees.""
I closed my eyes.
"He's trying to make everyone think I'm unstable.""
"Yes. But there's something else. The hospital has completed an initial review of your medication records.""
I sat forward.
"And?""
"They found evidence that your medication was altered by someone using Patricia Wells's credentials.""
"Can they prove who did it?""
"Not yet. But they're investigating.""
I looked out the window.
A thought suddenly occurred to me.
"Evelyn, do you remember the original medical report Thomas mentioned?""
"Yes.""
"Where is it?""
She hesitated.
"According to the original investigation, it was removed from your mother's hospital file.""
"Could Laura have it?""
"Possibly.""
I looked at Thomas.
He was watching the road.
"What if Daniel knows where it is?""
Thomas tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
"Then we need to find it before he does.""
We returned to Evelyn's office.
She had already prepared a secure room where the memory card's contents could be examined.
Marcus was waiting.
He had recovered deleted photographs and several email attachments.
One document caught his attention.
It was a scanned hospital discharge summary.
The patient's name was Margaret Bennett.
The date was October seventeenth.
The report stated that my mother had been discharged in stable condition.
But the hospital's death certificate listed her time of death as 6:42 a.m.
I frowned.
"How can someone be discharged after they're dead?""
Marcus enlarged the timestamp.
"That's what makes this interesting.""
The discharge document had been created at 8:13 a.m.
More than ninety minutes after her recorded death.
Evelyn leaned closer.
"Who authorized it?""
Marcus opened the electronic signature information.
The signature belonged to Dr. Harris.
Thomas stared at the screen.
"That man falsified her discharge record.""
I felt dizzy.
"Why?""
Evelyn looked at me.
"Possibly to conceal who had been responsible for her treatment.""
Marcus opened another attachment.
It was an email from Laura to Daniel.
The hospital has accepted the discharge summary. The original medication sheet is still missing.
Daniel's response was brief.
Find it before the estate review.
I read the message again.
"What's the original medication sheet?""
Marcus opened a separate file.
A scanned photograph appeared.
It showed a handwritten medication chart.
Several entries were visible.
One had been crossed out.
Another had been added in a different color of ink.
At the bottom, a note read:
*Patient refused additional medication.*
But beneath it was another sentence.
*Medication administered despite refusal.*
My hands went cold.
Evelyn leaned closer.
"Can you identify the medication?""
Marcus enlarged the image.
The name was partially obscured.
But enough letters remained to identify it.
Evelyn immediately searched the hospital's archived records.
A few minutes later, she looked up.
"This medication can cause severe cardiovascular complications when administered incorrectly.""
I stared at her.
"Was it given to my mother?""
"That's what we need to establish.""
Thomas paced near the window.
"Laura knows.""
I looked at him.
"Then we need to get her to talk.""
Evelyn shook her head.
"Not yet. We need to understand what leverage Daniel has over her.""
Marcus continued examining the deleted files.
Then he stopped.
"There's another recording.""
He clicked on it.
A man's voice emerged.
Daniel.
"You're overcomplicating this, Laura. Your job is to make sure the paperwork is correct.""
Laura's voice followed.
"But Margaret is asking questions. She wants to see the original records.""
Daniel laughed.
"Then tell her the doctor has already reviewed everything.""
"What if she refuses?""
A pause.
Then Daniel spoke again.
"She won't have much time to refuse.""
The recording ended.
I stared at the screen.
Nobody spoke.
Then Evelyn quietly said, "We need to turn this over to the authorities immediately.""
Thomas nodded.
But before he could answer, Marcus opened another file.
It contained an email sent from an unknown account.
The subject line read:
*MARGARET'S FINAL INSTRUCTIONS.*
The message was short.
The original documents are not in the hospital.
They are with Nia.
I stared at the screen.
"With me?""
Evelyn looked confused.
"Do you know what that means?""
I shook my head.
Then a memory surfaced.
Three weeks before my mother died, she had given me a small wooden music box.
It was an old family heirloom, decorated with tiny silver flowers.
She had told me it was a birthday gift, even though my birthday was months away.
I had taken it home and placed it on my bedside table.
After her funeral, Daniel had moved several of my belongings into storage.
I hadn't seen the music box since.
I looked at Thomas.
"Where are my things from the old bedroom?""
He frowned.
"What things?""
"The music box. My mother gave it to me before she died.""
Evelyn opened her eyes wider.
"Could she have hidden something inside it?""
"I don't know.""
Thomas reached for his phone.
"Where was it stored?""
I gave him the storage facility details.
He immediately called the manager.
After a short conversation, he lowered the phone.
"The unit has been cleared.""
My stomach dropped.
"Cleared?""
"Someone removed everything yesterday.""
I stared at him.
"Who?""
He looked at the photograph on the screen.
"Daniel.""
For several seconds, I couldn't speak.
Then Evelyn's office phone rang.
She answered.
Listened.
And slowly stood.
"What do you mean the petition has been approved?""
I looked at her.
She covered the receiver.
"Nia, the trust administrator has granted Daniel temporary authority over the estate pending a formal hearing.""
My heart stopped.
"How?""
"He's submitted a new medical statement.""
"From Dr. Harris?""
She nodded.
I felt the room closing around me.
Then she said something worse.
"The court hearing is scheduled for tomorrow morning.""
I looked at the calendar.
Less than twelve hours.
Daniel had finally found a way to put his hands on my inheritance.
My phone vibrated.
A message appeared from an unknown number.
*You should have listened to your mother.*
Then a photograph arrived.
It showed the little wooden music box sitting on a desk.
Beside it was a glass of whiskey.
And behind it, partially visible in the reflection of a mirror, stood Daniel.
The final message appeared beneath the photograph.
*Tomorrow, the judge will decide who gets to control your life. Tonight, I decide whether you get to see the morning.*
I looked up at Thomas.
He had already read it.
His hand moved toward his jacket.
"Get your coat, Nia.""
"Where are we going?""
He looked at the photograph again.
"To find that music box.""
Then he added quietly:
May you like
"Because if your mother hid the original evidence inside it, Daniel has just made the biggest mistake of his life.""
And somewhere in the city, my husband was holding the only thing that could prove he had helped destroy my family.
