Chapter 3 - THE MEDICAL RECORDS THAT VANISHED
Dr. Hayes arrived an hour later.
He analyzed the residue on the marble floor and confirmed it contained a rare, fast-acting sedative capable of stopping the heart in high doses. Nora had meant it to look like peaceful sleep. Natural causes. Another tragedy.
He examined Sarah as well. He found signs of malnutrition, neglect, and long-term medication use.
“She has been kept heavily sedated for years,” Dr. Hayes said quietly, pulling me aside. “Kept weak and confused so she could not fight back. Whoever administered those drugs knew exactly what they were doing.”
“Nora,” I said. “She was a nurse before she came to work for me. I never thought—”
“She used her knowledge to keep your wife compliant and hidden,” Dr. Hayes said gravely. “But there is something else, Ethan. The drugs… they are not easy to obtain. Someone with access to medical supplies must have been providing them.”
My blood ran cold. “You mean Nora did not act alone?”
“Possibly,” he said. “And I want to check something else. Let me see the hospital records from the fire. If Sarah survived, why did they list her as dead?”
We went to my study. I pulled the file I had kept locked away for seven years. The Saint Aurelia Hospital fire report. Death certificates. Everything.
Dr. Hayes scanned through pages. Then he frowned.
“These records… they are incomplete. Pages are missing. Including the admission and discharge logs from the very night of the fire. And look at this death certificate. The signature is forged. I know this doctor. He retired two years before this date.”
I leaned forward. “So someone falsified documents to make it appear Sarah died?”
“And destroyed the real records to cover the trail,” Dr. Hayes said. “Ethan… this was planned long before the fire. Someone paid off people. Altered paperwork. Nora could not have done all this alone. She had help.”
I stood up and walked to the window. The rain fell heavily against the glass.
If Nora had accomplices… then they were still out there. And they would not be happy that Sarah and Lily were alive.
I returned to the sitting room. Sarah sat on the sofa, Lily curled asleep in her lap. She looked up as I entered. Her expression changed when she saw my face.
“What is it?” she asked softly.
I sat beside her. “Sarah… do you remember anything about the fire? About who helped Nora keep you prisoner?”
She went pale. She looked down at Lily, brushing hair gently from her face.
“I remember voices,” she whispered. “Men who came to see Nora. I never saw their faces clearly. But one name… I heard Nora call him Julian. And she was afraid of him.”
My stomach dropped. Julian was my business manager. My closest advisor. The man I had trusted with everything while I grieved.
“He told everyone I was better off alone,” Sarah continued, her voice trembling. “He signed documents in your name. He told Nora what to do. And she obeyed him. She was terrified of him.”
I stood up slowly.
Julian.
The man who had comforted me after the fire. Who managed my estate. Who told me repeatedly that Nora was such a devoted, helpful woman… I should keep her employed.
Every piece fell into place with horrifying clarity.
The falsified death certificates. The destroyed records. Nora having access to everything. Julian had been pulling strings all along. And tonight… when Lily exposed Nora… Julian had sent the poison with full knowledge it might kill me too.
Sarah reached up and touched my hand. “Ethan… be careful. He is dangerous. Nora was only following his orders.”
May you like
I looked down at her. At our sleeping daughter. At everything they had stolen.
“I will be careful,” I said quietly. “But Sarah… I promise you. I will make certain every single person involved pays for what they did.”
