Chapter 14: The Last Person I Expected
My mother was sitting in an interrogation room when Officer Brooks showed her Rebecca's statement.
Patricia looked smaller than I remembered.
Her expensive cardigan was wrinkled.
Her hair was untidy.
But she still wore the same pearl earrings she'd worn to Lily's birthday parties.
When I entered, she looked up.
“Marcus.””
I remained standing.
“Why?””
She lowered her eyes.
“Sit down, sweetheart.””
“Don't call me that.””
Her lips trembled.
“I never wanted things to go this far.””
I laughed.
“My daughter is dead.””
“I know.””
“No. You don't know.””
I placed Lily's pink diary on the table.
“You know what she wrote in here?””
My mother looked at the cover.
I opened it to the page.
Things I will do so Daddy loves me again.
My mother began crying.
“She shouldn't have believed that.””
“You taught her to believe it!””
“I was trying to protect you.””
“From your own daughter?””
She shook her head.
“From Danielle. From the mess your marriage had become. From the financial problems.””
“What financial problems?””
She hesitated.
Officer Brooks stepped forward.
“Mrs. Williams, we need you to answer directly. Why did you bring prescription medication into Lily's hospital room?””
Patricia stared at her hands.
“Samuel told me it would help her sleep.””
“Dr. Reed?””
“Yes.””
“Did he give you the medication?””
“He told me where to get it.””
“From whom?””
She looked away.
“I don't remember.””
Officer Brooks placed the pharmacy records in front of her.
“Your name appears on a purchase record connected to the medication found in your handbag.””
My mother stared at the page.
Then she whispered, “I was frightened.””
I leaned forward.
“Of what?””
“Lily had overheard us discussing the trust. She kept saying she wanted to tell you.””
“So you made her afraid of me?””
“I thought she would forget.””
“She was eight!””
“I know!””
Her voice cracked.
“I know she was eight!””
For the first time, my mother looked genuinely broken.
But I couldn't feel sorry for her.
Not when I remembered Lily's final recording.
Officer Brooks continued.
“Did you know the medication could interact with Lily's existing treatment?””
Patricia shook her head.
“Samuel said it was safe.””
“Did you tell Danielle?””
“No.””
“Did you tell Marcus?””
“No.””
“Did you tell the hospital staff?””
She hesitated.
“I told Rebecca.””
I felt my stomach turn.
Officer Brooks opened another folder.
“We have obtained a statement from Dr. Reed.””
My mother looked up sharply.
“What statement?””
“He says you repeatedly asked him to help keep Lily quiet about the financial arrangement.””
“That isn't true.””
“He also says you threatened to expose his personal prescription misuse if he refused.””
My mother went pale.
I looked at her.
“You blackmailed him?””
She began shaking her head.
“He was helping me!””
“With what?””
She remained silent.
Officer Brooks placed a final document on the table.
It was a bank statement.
A transfer of $47,000 had been made into Price Family Holdings LLC.
Another transfer of $23,000 had followed.
The second payment had been made after Lily's hospitalization began.
My mother stared at the numbers.
“Where did the money go?”” I asked.
She didn't answer.
Officer Brooks did.
“Some of it was transferred to Ethan Price. Some was used to pay legal and financial consulting fees. We're tracing the remaining amount.””
I looked at my mother.
“You stole from your granddaughter.””
She began sobbing.
“I was going to put it back.””
“When?””
“When everything was settled.””
“After what?””
She covered her face.
I waited.
Finally, she said something I would never forget.
“I thought if Lily couldn't speak about the documents, we would have time to fix everything.””
My blood ran cold.
Officer Brooks immediately leaned forward.
“Are you saying you wanted Lily unable to communicate?””
Patricia shook her head frantically.
“No! I didn't want her dead!””
“Then what did you intend?””
“I thought the medication would make her sleep. That's all.””
I stood.
“You gave an eight-year-old medication without authorization because you were afraid she'd tell her father about money?””
“I made a terrible mistake.””
I looked at her.
“No. A mistake is forgetting a birthday. A mistake is taking the wrong turn.
What you did was a decision. Every single time.””
She reached for my hand.
“Marcus, please.””
I stepped backward.
“You taught my daughter that her father didn't love her. You made her apologize for calling me. You stood beside her hospital bed while she begged to hear my voice.””
My mother sobbed.
“I loved her.””
I looked at her for a long moment.
“Then you should have protected her.””
Officer Brooks escorted me into the hallway.
I stood there shaking.
Then he received another update from the medical examiner.
He read it silently.
His expression became serious.
“What is it?”” I asked.
“The final toxicology report is ready.””
My heart began pounding.
“Tell me.””
“The laboratory confirmed that Lily had been exposed to a medication not prescribed for her. The concentration was significantly higher than the amount expected from the documented treatment.””
“Did it cause her death?””
“The medical examiner has concluded that the medication contributed to a fatal medical complication, in combination with her existing illness.””
I closed my eyes.
For months, I'd wondered whether I could have saved my daughter by answering those fifty-one calls.
Now I knew that someone had deliberately placed her in danger.
But that didn't erase my own failure.
I had been alive.
I had been reachable.
And I'd chosen not to come home.
Officer Brooks placed a final piece of paper in my hand.
It was a copy of the official investigative summary.
At the bottom was a sentence that made me stop breathing.
The child repeatedly attempted to contact her father before her death.
I stared at it.
Then I heard my mother's voice behind me.
“Marcus!””
I turned.
She was standing beside the interview-room door.
Her face was wet with tears.
“Please tell me you don't hate me.””
I looked at her.
For the first time, I understood how my daughter must have felt.
But I didn't answer.
I walked away.
And when I reached the parking lot, Danielle was waiting beside the car.
She held Lily's stuffed rabbit against her chest.
“Did they find out what happened?”” she asked.
I nodded.
She looked at my face.
Then she whispered, “We need to hear something.””
“What?””
“Lily's last recording. The complete one.””
I stared at her.
“Why?””
Danielle opened her phone.
“Because the hospital just sent me an audio file they recovered from her bedside.””
She pressed play.
A faint beep sounded.
Then Lily whispered:
“Daddy, if you're listening, I need you to know something.””
There was a pause.
May you like
Then she said:
“Grandma isn't telling the truth about Mommy.””
