Chapter 3: The Notebook Beneath the Floorboard
I ran upstairs.
Zora followed me, her bare feet slapping against the wooden steps.
Her bedroom was at the end of the hallway, decorated with purple curtains and faded drawings she'd made in elementary school.
The closet door stood open.
A small wooden floorboard had been lifted.
And the notebook was missing.
Zora dropped to her knees.
"It was right here.""
I crouched beside her.
"Are you sure?""
"I checked it yesterday.""
She began pulling clothes from the closet.
I caught her wrists gently.
"Zora, stop. We'll find it.""
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Monica found it. She knows I know.""
Behind us, my father appeared in the doorway.
"What's going on?""
"The notebook is gone," I said.
He looked at the empty space beneath the floorboard.
"What notebook?""
Zora wiped her face.
"I wrote down every time the doctor came. I wrote what he asked me. I even wrote the things Monica said when she thought nobody could hear.""
My father knelt beside her.
"Why did you feel you had to write everything down?""
"Because I knew nobody would believe me.""
That sentence hit harder than anything else she'd said.
My father closed his eyes.
For a moment, I saw the guilt on his face.
Then he stood.
"Where is Monica?""
"Downstairs," I answered.
He walked toward the staircase.
I stayed with Zora.
"Tell me what was in the notebook.""
She took a shaky breath.
"Monica made me take little white pills before the doctor came. She said they were vitamins.""
My stomach dropped.
"Did you take them?""
"Sometimes. She put them in my juice.""
"Did you feel different afterward?""
Zora nodded.
"I got sleepy. Sometimes my head hurt. Once I woke up and couldn't remember how I got into bed.""
I felt the blood drain from my face.
I pulled out my phone.
"I'm calling emergency services.""
Zora grabbed my hand.
"Wait.""
"What?""
"There's something else.""
She reached into the pocket of her sweatshirt and pulled out a folded piece of paper.
"I saved this.""
It was a photograph.
A little blurry, but recognizable.
Monica stood beside Dr. Cole in the kitchen. He was holding a small brown medicine bottle.
On the back, Zora had written a date.
September 23.
I turned the photograph over again.
"Where did you get this?""
"I took it when Monica left her phone on the counter. I used mine.""
"Why didn't you show Daddy?""
"Because she said if I told him, she'd send me away.""
My father called from downstairs.
"Ethan! Get down here!""
I slipped the photograph into my pocket.
When we reached the living room, Monica was standing near the fireplace.
The doctor was inside now.
He had somehow entered the house.
My father stood between him and the staircase.
"Who gave you permission to enter my home?"" he demanded.
Dr. Cole placed his medical bag on the coffee table.
"Richard, please calm down.""
"Get out.""
"You're making a serious mistake.""
My father pointed at the door.
"I said get out.""
Monica moved beside the doctor.
"Richard, let him explain.""
"Explain what? Why he's secretly treating my daughter?""
Dr. Cole adjusted his glasses.
"I'm not secretly treating anyone. Monica contacted me because Zora was experiencing recurring symptoms.""
"Then why did you tell me she needed to go to the hospital before she started talking?""
The doctor's face tightened.
He glanced at Monica.
She shook her head almost imperceptibly.
I saw it.
My father saw it too.
"Don't look at her," he said.
"Look at me.""
Dr. Cole exhaled.
"Richard, there are certain medical circumstances that require discretion.""
"Not from a child's father.""
"Your wife was concerned about your reaction.""
"To what?""
The doctor remained silent.
Zora stepped forward.
"You gave her money.""
Monica snapped.
"Go upstairs!""
"No!""
My sister's voice trembled, but she didn't retreat.
"You gave her money every time you came here. You told her the medicine was working.""
Dr. Cole looked at Zora.
"Young lady, you don't understand what you've heard.""
"I understand that you told Monica to give me more pills.""
The room went silent.
My father turned toward the doctor.
"What pills?""
Dr. Cole reached for his medical bag.
My father immediately stepped in front of it.
"Don't touch that.""
Monica suddenly grabbed the doctor's sleeve.
"Tell him the truth.""
Dr. Cole looked furious.
"You said she hadn't found the records.""
Monica's lips parted.
I felt my heart pounding.
"What records?"" I demanded.
Dr. Cole looked at me.
Then he looked at my father.
Finally, he opened his medical bag and removed a thick brown folder.
"I think you should see this before you accuse anyone else.""
My father snatched it.
Inside were printed medical reports, photographs, laboratory results, and several pages of handwritten notes.
The first page carried Zora's full name.
The second carried my father's signature.
But my father stared at it in disbelief.
"I never signed this.""
Monica backed toward the fireplace.
Dr. Cole swallowed.
"Richard, there's something you need to know. Your wife didn't hire me simply to monitor Zora's health.""
My father turned the page.
His face went completely blank.
At the bottom was a document titled:
*GUARDIANSHIP AND MEDICAL AUTHORIZATION — MINOR CHILD.*
Beside the signature line was his name.
And beneath it was a date from three months earlier.
My father slowly looked up.
"Monica, what did you sign my name to?""
She didn't answer.
Instead, she looked directly at Zora.
For the first time, I saw genuine fear in her eyes.
Because my little sister had just whispered the one thing Monica had spent months trying to keep hidden.
"The doctor told me you were going to sell my house after Daddy died.""
My father stopped breathing.
May you like
Then Zora added:
"But Monica said she needed me sick first.""
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