Chapter 5: My Wife's Last Warning
I nearly dropped the recorder.
Danielle's voice sounded weak, but unmistakable.
I hadn't heard her speak in seven years.
Not a recording. Not a voicemail.
Her actual voice.
The voice that used to call me downstairs for dinner. The voice that sang to Ethan when thunderstorms frightened him.
Now it was warning me about my own brother.
"Michael," the recording continued, "I don't know when you'll hear this. I only know that Daniel has been asking questions about the trust.""
I sat on the edge of the bed.
Vanessa stood in the doorway.
Daniel appeared behind her.
"Turn that off.""
I didn't look at him.
The recording continued.
"He told me that the house should be sold to cover expenses. He said Ethan was too young to understand what I was leaving him.""
There was a pause.
Then Danielle coughed.
"I told him no.""
My eyes filled with tears.
I remembered that period.
Danielle had been getting weaker every day. I had spent nights sleeping beside her hospital bed, believing my brother was helping us prepare for the worst.
Apparently, he'd been preparing for something else.
"Michael, if you're hearing this, I need you to know that the house belongs to Ethan. Not Daniel. Not anyone he introduces you to. Ethan.""
I pressed the recorder closer.
"There's another reason I made the trust. Daniel has access to documents he shouldn't have. He knows things about my medical treatment that he has no right to know.""
The recording crackled.
Then Danielle whispered:
"If anything happens to me unexpectedly, please ask Robert to investigate the medication records from my final hospital stay.""
My entire body went cold.
I stopped breathing.
Medication records.
Final hospital stay.
I looked at Daniel.
He had gone pale.
"What did she mean?"" I asked.
Daniel shook his head.
"She was sick. She was confused.""
I stood.
"She knew exactly what she was saying.""
"Mike, people say strange things when they're dying.""
I held up the recorder.
"She specifically mentioned you.""
Daniel took a step forward.
"Give me that.""
I moved away.
"No.""
He looked toward Vanessa.
"Tell him.""
Vanessa covered her mouth.
"Daniel, please.""
"Tell him what you know!""
I turned toward her.
"Know what?""
She started shaking.
Daniel cursed under his breath.
Then Vanessa whispered, "I didn't know about the medication.""
I stared at her.
"What medication?""
She looked at Daniel.
He closed his eyes.
For the first time, I saw something other than arrogance on my brother's face.
Fear.
"Michael," Vanessa said, "there's something I haven't told you about Danielle's last few weeks.""
I waited.
"Daniel visited her at the hospital several times when you weren't there.""
"That was normal. He was her brother-in-law.""
"No. He was meeting with someone.""
"Who?""
Vanessa hesitated.
"One of the hospital administrators.""
I felt my legs weaken.
"Why?""
"He said he was trying to understand her medical bills.""
I looked at Daniel.
"Is that true?""
He rubbed his face.
"I was helping.""
"With what?""
"Financial arrangements.""
I picked up my phone.
"Robert needs to hear this.""
Daniel immediately stepped forward.
"Don't call him.""
I looked at him.
"Why not?""
"Because Robert doesn't know the whole story.""
"Then tell me.""
He stared at me for several seconds.
Finally, he sat on the bed.
"Danielle discovered that I'd used money from the trust before it was legally available.""
I frowned.
"How much?""
"Forty thousand.""
Vanessa gasped.
Daniel continued.
"I thought I could replace it before she found out.""
"She found out?""
"Yes.""
"And?""
"She threatened to remove me as trustee.""
I stared at him.
"That explains why you were angry. It doesn't explain why you were involved in her medical records.""
Daniel looked toward the window.
"She was going to expose me. I panicked.""
"Did you interfere with her treatment?""
He shook his head.
"No.""
But he answered too quickly.
I opened my phone and called Robert.
When he answered, I put the call on speaker.
"Robert, I'm with Daniel and Vanessa. I've found Danielle's recording. She mentioned possible interference with her medical treatment and asked me to investigate her final hospital records.""
Robert was silent.
Then he said, "Michael, I need you to listen carefully.""
I gripped the phone.
"What?""
"After Danielle died, I received an anonymous letter.""
My heart began racing.
"What letter?""
"It claimed that someone had attempted to access her medical file using an unauthorized hospital credential.""
I looked at Daniel.
Robert continued.
"I didn't have sufficient evidence to identify the person, so I preserved the letter and the supporting records.""
"Who had access?""
"That's what I wanted to investigate. But the hospital informed me that the request originated from an employee account.""
I looked at my brother.
Daniel was staring at the floor.
"Robert," I whispered, "what was the employee's name?""
Robert hesitated.
Then he answered.
"That's the problem, Michael. The employee was listed as working for the hospital's patient administration department. Her name was Vanessa Carter.""
I turned toward my wife.
Her face had lost every trace of color.
Vanessa Carter.
Her maiden name.
"Why?"" I whispered.
She began crying.
Daniel suddenly grabbed his briefcase.
"Nobody is saying anything else tonight.""
I stepped in front of him.
"Sit down.""
He pushed past me.
I grabbed his shoulder.
He turned and shoved my chest.
I stumbled backward, hitting the dresser.
Madison screamed.
"Stop! Both of you!""
Daniel reached the hallway.
Then Ethan appeared at the top of the stairs.
He was holding the old photograph of his mother.
"Uncle Daniel?""
My brother froze.
Ethan looked at the recorder in my hand.
"Is that Mom?""
I nodded.
He approached slowly.
"Can I hear her?""
I looked at him.
"Of course.""
He took the recorder.
Danielle's voice filled the hallway again.
And as Ethan listened, he suddenly began crying.
May you like
Because the next sentence was something neither Vanessa nor Daniel had expected him to hear.
"There's one person who knows what really happened to me. His name is Dr. Samuel Reed.""
