Chapter 8: The Last Person Who Saw My Father Alive
The hospital room smelled of antiseptic and stale coffee.
I remembered every detail.
The pale green curtains.
The monitor beside my father's bed.
The small clock above the door showing 2:17 a.m.
And Nathan standing near the window, his hands buried in his pockets.
I had arrived breathless after driving through the rain.
"Where is Dad?"" I'd asked.
Nathan had looked at me.
"He's sleeping.""
"Has the doctor spoken to you?""
"Yes. They said his condition is serious.""
I had rushed toward the bed.
My father had been unconscious, with tubes running beneath the white blanket.
I held his hand.
"Dad, I'm here.""
Nathan stood behind me.
"He probably can't hear you, Olivia.""
I remembered turning around.
"Don't say that.""
He had looked away.
Now, sitting inside the police station eleven years later, I wondered what else my brother hadn't told me.
Detective Hill placed another document on the table.
"We recovered hospital visitor records from the night your father died.""
I looked up.
"Why?""
"Because your father's letter suggests that someone may have visited him before his death.""
James leaned forward.
"What do the records show?""
The detective turned the page.
"Three visitors were registered during the final twenty-four hours.""
My name appeared first.
Nathan's appeared second.
The third name made me stop breathing.
Thomas Whitmore.
I looked at James.
"Your brother visited my father that night?""
James slowly nodded.
"I didn't know that.""
The detective continued.
"There's also a discrepancy in the medical records. A medication was administered at 1:42 a.m. The attending physician documented that it was ordered by a consulting specialist.""
"Was it appropriate?"" I asked.
"We're reviewing that. But the consulting specialist's name appears to have been entered incorrectly.""
James frowned.
"Who was it?""
Detective Hill slid the paper toward us.
Dr. Adrian Mercer.
The same name Vanessa had mentioned.
I felt my stomach tighten.
"Is he the man Daniel was working with?""
"We haven't established that connection yet.""
James stood.
"This needs to be handled by a specialist in medical investigations.""
Detective Hill nodded.
"We've already contacted the hospital's records department.""
I looked down at my father's letter.
The person who betrayed me knows where the original documents are hidden.
"Detective, what was inside the briefcase?""
He opened another folder.
"Several financial records, copies of correspondence, and an old voice recorder.""
"A voice recorder?""
He placed a small digital device on the table.
"We haven't fully analyzed it. But there's one recording we'd like you to hear.""
He pressed play.
At first, there was only static.
Then I heard my father's voice.
"Thomas, I know what you've been doing.""
Another man's voice answered.
"Robert, you're making a mistake.""
"I trusted you with everything.""
"You trusted me with too much.""
My father's voice became sharper.
"Where is the money?""
A chair scraped.
Then Thomas spoke again.
"You should have stayed out of the accounts.""
"I will not let you destroy what I built.""
There was a pause.
Then another voice entered the recording.
A younger male voice.
I recognized it immediately.
Nathan.
"Uncle Thomas, we need to leave. Dad's getting suspicious.""
My body went rigid.
The recording continued.
My father spoke quietly.
"Nathan?""
A door slammed.
The recording ended.
I stared at the device.
"That was my brother.""
Detective Hill nodded.
"Yes.""
James looked devastated.
"Thomas and Nathan were working together?""
I couldn't answer.
The detective continued.
"We believe the recording was made several weeks before your father's death. We're investigating whether the financial activity discussed in it connects to the suspicious medical records.""
I covered my mouth.
For years, I'd defended Nathan.
When he lost his business, I'd told relatives he was simply going through a difficult period.
When he stopped visiting me, I'd blamed his pride.
When Daniel complained about him, I'd insisted that family deserved patience.
I'd been wrong about both men.
My phone vibrated.
A message appeared.
*Nathan: Please don't let them arrest me before I explain.*
I stared at the screen.
Another message followed.
*I didn't kill Dad. But I know who was in that room when he died.*
My fingers went numb.
I showed Detective Hill.
He immediately asked for the phone.
"Do you know where your brother is?""
"No.""
"Can you get him to meet you?""
I hesitated.
Then I typed a response.
*I'll listen. But you tell me everything.*
His reply arrived almost immediately.
*Tomorrow. 10 a.m. The old house. Come alone.*
Detective Hill shook his head.
"No.""
I looked at him.
"I need answers.""
"You can get answers without putting yourself in danger.""
James nodded.
"We'll arrange a controlled meeting.""
I agreed, but something bothered me.
Why had Nathan chosen the old house?
My father had sold it shortly before his death. The property had been empty for years before it was converted into a private office building.
Unless Nathan knew something about the house that nobody else did.
At 2:10 a.m., James drove me home.
I hadn't slept in almost twenty-four hours.
When I entered the house, I found a photograph on the kitchen counter.
It was a picture of Daniel and me on our wedding day.
Someone had placed it face down.
I picked it up.
A folded note was underneath.
Stop digging into your father's death. You have already lost your husband. Don't lose your brother too.
There was no signature.
I immediately called Detective Hill.
He answered on the second ring.
"Olivia?""
"Someone has been inside my house.""
"Are you alone?""
"Yes.""
"Don't touch anything else. We're sending officers.""
I stood in the kitchen, staring at the note.
Then I heard a sound upstairs.
A floorboard creaked.
I froze.
"Detective," I whispered, "I think someone is still here.""
He told me to move outside.
But before I could reach the front door, a voice came from the staircase.
"Olivia?""
I turned.
A woman stood at the top.
She was wearing a dark coat and holding a small handbag.
I recognized her immediately.
It was my father's former nurse.
Margaret Ellis.
She had disappeared from our lives after his funeral.
Her eyes filled with tears.
May you like
"Please," she whispered.
"You need to hear what happened that night.""
