Chapter 8: The Truth My Mother Had Buried
I stared at my mother.
For twelve years, I had imagined what it would feel like to see her again.
I had imagined tears, apologies, embraces, and explanations.
I had never imagined sitting across from her in a parked car while she admitted she knew someone had tried to prevent me from waking up.
"You knew?"" I whispered.
Elena nodded.
"Yes.""
"And you never told me?""
"I couldn't.""
"Couldn't or wouldn't?""
She flinched.
Arthur turned toward her.
"Elena, what happened?""
My mother looked down at her hands.
"Daniel called me from the hospital the night of the accident. He said Nia had survived, but he was afraid someone would try to finish what they started.""
I felt sick.
"Finish what they started?""
She nodded.
"He told me that someone had accessed your medical records. He believed they were trying to change your treatment plan.""
Samuel leaned forward.
"Did he identify the person?""
"Not during that call.""
"Then what happened?""
Elena closed her eyes.
"He told me to get out of town. He said I needed to disappear until he could prove what Richard had done.""
Arthur shook his head.
"Why didn't you come to me?""
"Because Daniel said he wasn't sure who he could trust.""
My grandfather looked wounded.
"Even me?""
She nodded reluctantly.
"He said Richard had people watching the family. He was afraid that if anyone knew where I was, they would use me to get to Nia.""
I stared out the window.
"So you disappeared.""
"I thought it was the only way to keep you alive.""
"You left me in a hospital.""
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"I know.""
"You let me wake up without my father. Without my mother. Without anyone who could tell me what had happened.""
"I know, sweetheart.""
"You could have called.""
"I tried.""
"Then why didn't you?""
She reached into her handbag and pulled out a small stack of letters.
Every one was addressed to me.
Every one had been returned.
Some had hospital stamps.
Others bore the words Undeliverable — Recipient Restricted.
"I sent these to the hospital. Richard's people intercepted them.""
I took the letters.
There were birthday cards.
A Christmas letter.
A photograph of my mother holding a bouquet of flowers.
And one envelope dated six months after my accident.
On the front, she had written:
For my daughter, who deserves to know that she was loved every single day.
I couldn't hold it together anymore.
I covered my face.
My mother reached for me, but I didn't move toward her.
Not yet.
Arthur placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Sweetheart, you don't have to forgive anyone today.""
I nodded.
Samuel's phone rang.
He answered immediately.
"Yes?""
A man's voice came through.
"Samuel, it's Thomas. I've located the original hospital records.""
Samuel straightened.
"Where?""
"In a storage facility belonging to the medical group that employed Brooks.""
"Are they authentic?""
"Yes. And there's something you need to see.""
"What?""
Thomas lowered his voice.
"Your granddaughter's medication wasn't the only thing altered. Daniel's blood samples were also removed from the hospital's evidence archive.""
My stomach tightened.
"What blood samples?""
Thomas explained that after the accident, doctors had collected samples from both victims as part of routine emergency testing.
Daniel's samples had disappeared.
Mine had been replaced with records from another patient.
"Why?"" I asked.
Thomas heard me.
"Because someone didn't want investigators discovering what was in your system.""
I looked at Samuel.
"What could have been in it?""
He didn't answer.
My mother did.
"An experimental sedative.""
I turned toward her.
She wiped her cheeks.
"Daniel told me that Richard had been paying a pharmaceutical consultant to obtain medication that wasn't approved for general use. He believed someone had administered it to you before the accident.""
I felt my stomach twist.
"Why would anyone do that?""
"To make you unconscious. To make it appear that you couldn't remember anything.""
Samuel's expression darkened.
"Your father suspected the accident was arranged to remove both of you from the company dispute.""
Arthur looked toward me.
"Daniel believed Nia was the only person who could inherit his voting shares without Richard gaining control.""
I stared at him.
"Then the accident wasn't just about money.""
"No," Samuel said.
"It was also about control.""
He looked at his phone.
"Thomas wants us at his office.""
We drove across town to a discreet building above an old accounting firm.
Thomas Reed was waiting on the second floor.
He was in his early sixties, with a weathered face and a neatly trimmed gray beard.
When he saw me, he stopped.
"You look exactly like your father.""
I managed a small smile.
"Everyone keeps saying that.""
He shook my hand.
"I wish we were meeting under better circumstances.""
He led us into a conference room.
On the table were photographs, medical reports, and a laptop.
Thomas pointed toward a chair.
"Sit down. We have a lot to discuss.""
I positioned my wheelchair beside the table.
He opened the laptop.
"Four years ago, I was hired by Daniel to investigate suspicious payments from Carter Holdings.""
A spreadsheet appeared.
Several transfers had been highlighted.
"These payments went through a consulting company called Northbridge Medical Solutions.""
Samuel leaned forward.
"Who owned it?""
Thomas clicked another document.
A corporate registration certificate appeared.
The registered director was a man named Gregory Hale.
Arthur frowned.
"Never heard of him.""
Thomas nodded.
"That's because Gregory Hale is a fictional identity.""
He opened another file.
The bank account connected to Northbridge had received nearly six million dollars over three years.
Then Thomas displayed the final page.
The beneficial owner was listed as:
*Richard Carter.*
My uncle had funded the medical company.
But there was another name.
*Evelyn Brooks — Medical Consultant.*
I stared at the screen.
Thomas continued.
"Brooks received payments every month. Some were listed as consulting fees. Others were described as patient research expenses.""
"Patient research?"" I repeated.
"Yes.""
He opened a second spreadsheet.
My hospital admission number appeared.
I felt the room close around me.
"Why is my name there?""
Thomas didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he enlarged the document.
Beside my name was a code.
P-017.
Underneath it was a note.
Subject survived initial procedure. Continue monitoring.
I gripped the table.
"What procedure?""
Thomas looked at Samuel.
Then at me.
"Your father believed you had been used in an unauthorized medical experiment.""
My mother gasped.
Arthur stood.
"That's enough. We're taking this to the authorities.""
Thomas nodded.
"I agree. But there's one more thing.""
He opened a photograph.
It showed Dr. Brooks entering a private building.
Behind her was a man wearing a dark coat.
Thomas enlarged the image.
The man's face became clear.
I recognized him immediately.
It was Derek.
Vanessa's boyfriend.
The man who had worn my father's watch at the birthday dinner.
"Why was he meeting her?"" I asked.
Thomas clicked another image.
This time, Derek was handing Brooks a large envelope.
The photograph had been taken just three weeks earlier.
I looked at Samuel.
"Does Vanessa know?""
He nodded slowly.
"Possibly.""
Thomas closed the laptop.
"There's something else you should understand about Derek. He isn't simply Vanessa's boyfriend.""
"What is he?""
Thomas looked directly at me.
"He's Evelyn Brooks's son.""
My mouth fell open.
I remembered the way Derek had looked at the watch.
The way Vanessa had reacted whenever anyone questioned him.
The way he had quietly slipped away when the conversation became dangerous.
He hadn't been some random man who had entered our family two months ago.
He had been connected to the people who had been hiding my father's secrets.
I looked at Thomas.
"Why did he approach Vanessa?""
Thomas placed another photograph on the table.
It showed Vanessa entering a bank with Derek.
They were carrying a folder.
The date was from eight weeks earlier.
Then he pointed to a handwritten note beneath the photograph.
Transfer authorization — final stage.
My blood ran cold.
"What final stage?""
Thomas looked at Samuel.
Samuel's face hardened.
"Your father's trust.""
He turned toward me.
"Nia, I think Derek and Vanessa were planning to transfer your inheritance before your twenty-ninth birthday.""
I frowned.
"But I already turned twenty-nine.""
Thomas nodded.
"Exactly.""
May you like
He tapped the photograph.
"The transfer was scheduled to be completed tomorrow.""
