Chapter 9: The Truth Her Mother Took to the Grave
Emily couldn't hear anything except the sound of her own heartbeat.
Her mother's medical records had been changed.
She stared at Jace.
“What does that mean?””
Jace turned off the engine.
“I don't know everything yet.””
“Then tell me what you do know.””
He rubbed his forehead.
“Daniel suspected something was wrong with Sarah's treatment. He believed someone had accessed her hospital records without permission.””
Emily shook her head.
“My mother was sick. She had doctors. She had medicine. What could anyone have changed?””
“That's what we're trying to find out.””
“Did she die because somebody changed her medicine?””
Jace looked away.
“I can't tell you that.””
Emily's eyes filled.
“Why didn't anyone tell me?””
“Because nobody had proof.””
She opened the passenger door.
“Take me home.””
“Emily—”
“Please.””
Jace nodded.
He drove without speaking.
But when they reached the clubhouse, Emily didn't get out immediately.
She stared at the building.
“Jace?””
“Yeah?””
“If somebody hurt my mother, I want to know.””
He nodded.
“So do I.””
The following morning, Margaret Ellis arrived at the clubhouse with a medical records specialist.
Her name was Dr. Evelyn Shaw.
She was a retired hospital administrator who had worked in medical compliance for more than thirty years.
Margaret introduced her.
“Dr. Shaw has agreed to examine the available documents.””
Emily sat at the table.
“Can you tell me whether someone changed my mother's records?””
Dr. Shaw opened her laptop.
“I can look for evidence of unauthorized access, altered entries, and inconsistencies. But I'll need the original hospital records.””
Margaret placed a folder on the table.
“These are copies Sarah's attorney received shortly before her death.””
Dr. Shaw examined the pages.
She adjusted her glasses.
Then she looked at Emily.
“Do you remember which hospital your mother was treated at?””
“St. Mary's Medical Center.””
Dr. Shaw nodded.
“I worked with their compliance department years ago. I may be able to help identify the appropriate records custodian.””
Jace leaned forward.
“Can we get the original records?””
“With proper authorization or through the legal process, yes.””
Emily looked at Margaret.
“What do we do now?””
Margaret closed the folder.
“We establish a timeline. We determine who accessed the records. And we find out whether any changes were made.””
Three hours later, they were sitting in a small conference room at St. Mary's.
A records administrator named Paul Greene brought in a thick file.
“I've retrieved the archived copies,” he explained.
“Some electronic access logs may still be available.””
Dr. Shaw began examining the documents.
Emily sat beside Margaret, holding her mother's old photograph.
For nearly twenty minutes, nobody spoke.
Then Dr. Shaw stopped.
“That's unusual.””
Jace leaned forward.
“What?””
She pointed to a medication entry.
“According to this record, Sarah Carter was prescribed one dosage on the morning of December 2. But this second entry shows a different dosage was entered later that evening.””
Emily frowned.
“Was that dangerous?””
“Not necessarily. Changes in treatment can be appropriate. But the alteration requires a documented reason and an authorized physician's signature.””
She examined the next page.
“There isn't one.””
Paul Greene looked uncomfortable.
“That's strange.””
Dr. Shaw continued.
“There's also a record of an account accessing the file after Sarah's death.””
Emily's stomach tightened.
“Who?””
Paul checked the screen.
“The system identifies the account as belonging to the hospital's former administrative office.””
“Who worked there?”” Margaret asked.
Paul scrolled through the archived personnel records.
Then he stopped.
“Grant Miller.””
Jace stood.
“Grant worked at the hospital?””
Paul shook his head.
“Not as a medical professional. He was contracted to oversee financial administration during a restructuring project.””
Emily stared.
“Why would he access my mother's medical records?””
Paul didn't answer.
Dr. Shaw examined the timestamp.
“There's another problem.””
She pointed to the screen.
“The account was accessed three days after Sarah died. The file was opened, several entries were modified, and then the access log was partially deleted.””
Margaret's expression hardened.
“Can you preserve the remaining records?””
Paul nodded.
“I'll make a formal request to our legal department.””
Emily's hands trembled.
“Can this prove someone hurt my mother?””
Dr. Shaw looked at her carefully.
“It proves that the records require further investigation. It does not prove that her treatment was deliberately altered or that anyone caused her death.””
Emily nodded.
She understood.
But it didn't make the discovery hurt any less.
Outside the hospital, Jace received a call.
He answered.
“Marcus?””
“Where are you?””
“St. Mary's.””
“You need to come back to the clubhouse.””
“What happened?””
“We found something in Daniel's old financial files.””
Jace looked at Emily.
“Tell me.””
Marcus lowered his voice.
“There's a payment to Grant Miller. Same amount as the money Richard received before he disappeared.””
Jace closed his eyes.
“Who authorized it?””
“William Walker.””
Jace said nothing.
Marcus continued.
“But that's not all. There's a second payment.””
“To whom?””
Marcus hesitated.
“Richard Carter.””
Jace frowned.
“How much?””
“Two hundred thousand dollars.””
Emily heard the amount.
“Why would my father receive another payment?””
Marcus's voice came through the phone.
“Because he agreed to sign a statement claiming Sarah had stolen money from Daniel's company.””
Emily felt sick.
Her father hadn't simply abandoned her.
He had helped destroy her mother's reputation.
Jace ended the call.
Emily looked at him.
“I want to see him.””
“Who?””
“My father.””
Jace shook his head.
“Not until we speak with Margaret.””
“I'm tired of people deciding what I can handle.””
Jace studied her face.
Then he nodded.
“Okay. But we do this properly.””
Richard Carter agreed to meet them at his lawyer's office that afternoon.
He looked irritated when Emily entered.
“What is this?””
Emily stood in front of his desk.
“I want to ask you something.””
Richard glanced at Jace.
“Can't this wait?””
“No.””
She placed a copy of the financial record on his desk.
“Did you receive two hundred thousand dollars from William Walker?””
Richard looked at the paper.
For the briefest moment, his expression changed.
Then he laughed.
“This is ridiculous.””
“Did you?””
“Where did you get that?””
“Answer me.””
Richard stood.
“Emily, you have no idea what you're involved in.””
“Then explain it.””
He looked toward his lawyer.
Thomas Bennett shifted in his chair.
“Mr. Carter, perhaps you should—”
Richard raised his hand.
“Stay out of this.””
He turned back to Emily.
“Yes. I received money from William Walker.””
Emily felt her chest tighten.
“Why?””
“Because I was being compensated for leaving a situation that had become impossible.””
“Impossible for who?””
Richard looked away.
“Your mother had become obsessed with controlling everything.””
Emily's eyes filled with anger.
“She was raising a baby alone!””
“And I was trying to build a future!””
“You built it without me.””
Richard slammed his palm against the desk.
“You don't know what I sacrificed!””
Emily didn't move.
“Tell me.””
He stared at her.
Then, finally, he said something she had never expected.
“William Walker told me that if I stayed with your mother, I would lose everything. He offered me money, a position overseas, and a chance to start again.””
Emily whispered, “So you took it.””
Richard's expression hardened.
“I was twenty-eight years old. I made a decision.””
“You made a decision that left your daughter growing up without a father.””
Richard looked down.
For a moment, something resembling regret crossed his face.
Then he spoke again.
“Your mother could have contacted me.””
Emily laughed bitterly.
“She did. You changed your address.””
Richard said nothing.
She stepped closer.
“Did you know she was sick?””
His eyes flickered.
“Yes.””
“Did you visit her?””
“No.””
“Did you know she died?””
Richard swallowed.
“Yes.””
Emily's voice broke.
“And you still didn't come?””
Richard looked at her.
“I didn't think she wanted me there.””
Emily shook her head.
“You didn't come because you were afraid people would find out what you had done.””
Richard's face turned red.
“That's enough!””
“No. You don't get to tell me when it's enough.””
Jace placed a hand lightly on her shoulder.
Emily took a breath.
Then she asked the question that had haunted her for eleven years.
“Did you ever love me?””
Richard stared at her.
The room became completely silent.
Finally, he answered.
“I wanted a different life.””
Emily nodded slowly.
It wasn't the answer she had hoped for.
But it was the truth she needed.
She turned toward the door.
Then Richard spoke again.
“Emily, wait.””
She stopped.
He looked at her with something close to panic.
“There's something you don't understand about Daniel.””
Emily turned.
“What?””
Richard lowered his voice.
“Daniel wasn't trying to protect you because he loved your mother. He was trying to protect you because he knew what she had discovered.””
Jace stepped forward.
“What did Sarah discover?””
Richard looked directly at him.
“Ask your mother what happened to William Walker's first wife.””
Jace went completely still.
His mother.
The woman who had raised him.
The woman he had believed died peacefully when he was young.
Emily looked between the two men.
“What does your mother have to do with my mother?””
Jace didn't answer.
Richard picked up his briefcase.
“There's a reason Daniel kept that agreement hidden. And there's a reason William paid me to disappear.””
He walked toward the door.
Then stopped.
“One day, Jace, you'll understand why your father was so afraid of Daniel.””
That evening, Jace sat alone in his truck outside the clubhouse.
He held an old photograph of his parents.
His mother, Eleanor Walker, was smiling beside William.
He remembered her perfume.
Her soft voice.
The way she used to sing while making breakfast.
He also remembered the night she died.
He had been eleven.
His father had told him it was a sudden medical complication.
Nobody had questioned it.
Nobody had asked for details.
Jace stared at the photograph.
Then Marcus opened the passenger door.
“You okay?””
Jace handed him the picture.
“Do you remember my mother's death?””
Marcus nodded.
“I remember the funeral.””
“Did you ever think anything was strange?””
Marcus studied him.
“Why are you asking?””
“Richard just told Emily that Daniel knew something about my mother.””
Marcus went silent.
Then he reached into his jacket.
“I've been holding onto something.””
He handed Jace a small envelope.
It had been discovered inside Daniel's personal files.
Jace opened it.
Inside was a letter dated six months before Eleanor Walker died.
The first line read:
William, I know what happened to Eleanor. If you don't tell Jace the truth, I will.
Jace stared at the page.
Below it was a second paragraph.
Sarah has already found the medical records. If anything happens to her, you will be responsible for what comes next.
Jace's hands began to shake.
He looked at Marcus.
“Where did you find this?””
“In the bottom of Daniel's old desk.””
Jace turned the page.
There was one final sentence.
The person who changed Eleanor's medical records is still alive.
Jace looked toward the clubhouse.
Emily was standing in the doorway, watching him.
He stepped out of the truck.
“Emily.””
She approached slowly.
“What is it?””
Jace held out the letter.
She read the first paragraph.
Then the second.
Her face drained of color.
“Your mother and my mother were investigating the same thing?””
Jace nodded.
“And I think they both paid for it.””
Emily looked at him.
For the first time, they understood that this was bigger than an inheritance.
Bigger than Richard.
Bigger than the six hundred thousand dollars.
Someone had spent years hiding the truth about two dead women.
And that person might still be close enough to watch them.
Jace turned the letter over.
At the bottom was a handwritten name.
*GRANT MILLER.*
But beneath it was something even more disturbing.
A date.
The date of the next day's court hearing.
May you like
And a note:
*HE WILL BE THERE. MAKE SURE EMILY DOESN'T SPEAK.*
