Chapter 7: The Prescription That Killed My Mother
I had imagined finding out who killed my mother a thousand different ways.
I had imagined screaming at Vanessa.
I had imagined watching her get arrested.
I had even imagined my father finally admitting that he had failed to protect us.
But I had never imagined standing in his office, holding a phone that accused him of signing the document that ended my mother's life.
"Tell me it's a lie," I whispered.
Richard didn't move.
"Dad?""
He looked at the floor.
"Emily, I need you to listen to me.""
"Did you sign it?""
His silence answered before his mouth did.
I stepped backward.
"Oh, my God.""
"Your mother was in terrible pain. The doctors wanted to change her medication. Vanessa brought me a form and told me it was necessary.""
"What medication?""
"I don't remember.""
"How convenient!""
My voice cracked.
"Did you read it?""
Richard covered his face.
"I was exhausted. I'd been at the hospital for days. Vanessa said the nurses were waiting.""
"So you signed something without reading it?""
"Yes.""
I looked at him as if I were seeing him for the first time.
"My mother was dying, and you couldn't even read the paper someone put in front of you?""
He started crying.
"I loved Laura.""
"Then why did you keep letting Vanessa near her?""
He had no answer.
Caleb moved toward the desk.
"Emily, we need to get the original medical records. That message might be from someone who knows what happened, but we can't assume everything is true.""
I nodded.
Then Brielle spoke.
"There's something else.""
She was standing beside the laptop, her face almost colorless.
"What?""
"Mom kept a folder in her bedroom. She told me never to touch it.""
She opened another drawer and removed a small black notebook.
"I found this last week. I didn't understand what it meant.""
I took it.
The pages were filled with dates, initials, and medication names.
One entry was circled in red.
*Laura Bennett — Hospital Room 314. Medication authorization. R.B.*
Below it was a second line.
*Change confirmed. D.C. notified.*
My father's initials.
Daniel Cross's initials.
I looked at Richard.
"Why would Daniel be involved in my mother's medication?""
He shook his head.
"I don't know.""
Brielle turned another page.
There was a photograph of a hospital corridor.
A man in a dark jacket stood outside Room 314.
I recognized him.
Daniel.
But the photograph had something written across the bottom.
*Three hours before Laura's final deterioration.*
My hands went cold.
A sudden pounding came from the office door.
"Richard!"" Vanessa shouted.
"Open this door immediately!""
Caleb called the police.
Brielle started crying.
"She's going to hurt us.""
I pulled her toward me.
"She's not getting near you.""
The door suddenly stopped rattling.
Then Vanessa spoke in a completely different voice.
"Emily, sweetheart, I know you're upset. But there's something you don't understand about your mother.""
I didn't answer.
"Your mother wasn't an innocent woman. She knew exactly what she was doing when she married Richard.""
I walked closer to the door.
"You're the one who married him.""
Vanessa laughed.
"And do you know why?""
I waited.
"Because your mother made a mistake. She trusted the wrong man, and I spent years cleaning up after her.""
Richard suddenly shouted.
"Enough, Vanessa!""
She ignored him.
"Ask your father about the hospital bracelet. Ask him why Laura's belongings disappeared before the funeral.""
I turned toward Richard.
"What bracelet?""
He looked horrified.
Vanessa continued.
"Your mother was wearing a hospital bracelet when she died. It had a different patient's name on it. Richard noticed, didn't you?""
My father lowered his head.
I felt sick.
"What is she talking about?""
Richard finally spoke.
"After your mother died, I went to collect her belongings. The nurse gave me a plastic bag. Her wedding ring was missing, and the bracelet had someone else's name.""
"Whose?""
"I don't remember.""
"Did you report it?""
He shook his head.
"Vanessa said the hospital had made a mistake.""
I stared at him.
"Everything is always a mistake when Vanessa says it is.""
A siren sounded outside.
Caleb looked through the blinds.
"The police are here.""
Vanessa stopped talking.
A moment later, someone knocked on the front door.
Then another voice shouted, "Dallas Police Department!""
I thought we were finally safe.
Until Brielle looked at the laptop.
Her face changed.
"Emily.""
"What?""
She pointed at an open email.
The sender was a hospital administrator.
The message was dated six years earlier.
*The medication change was not entered by Mr. Bennett. The authorization was submitted under his name using a duplicate signature.*
I read it twice.
Richard stepped closer.
"I never signed it.""
My heart pounded.
"Then who did?""
Brielle scrolled down.
At the bottom was a scanned signature.
It looked exactly like my father's.
But beneath it was another name.
*Witness: Vanessa Bennett.*
And attached to the email was a second document.
A photograph of the original medication authorization.
The person who had signed it was clearly visible in the reflection of the glass.
It wasn't my father.
It wasn't Vanessa.
It was someone I had never expected to see.
My mother's doctor.
May you like
Dr. Samuel Whitmore.
And according to the date on the document, he had died two years before my mother entered the hospital.
