Chapter 2 - THE MEDICINE CABINET
Rosa scrolled through the tablet.
Dozens of short recordings filled the screen.
Sophie had not created them intentionally.
Marissa had programmed the tablet to record whenever the bedroom door opened after bedtime.
She had installed the feature years earlier because Sophie used to sleepwalk.
After Marissa died, no one remembered the setting.
The recordings continued quietly.
Alejandro watched Valerie enter Sophie’s room night after night.
Sometimes she carried milk.
Sometimes she carried medicine bottles.
Sometimes she stood over Sophie’s bed and whispered while the child pretended to sleep.
One recording captured Valerie saying,
“If you keep acting sick, your father will send you away.”
Another showed her hiding sewing pins inside the pillow seam.
A third showed her removing the prescribed antibiotics from the bedside drawer.
Valerie reached for the tablet.
Rosa pulled it away.
“Do not touch this.”
Valerie looked toward Alejandro.
“This can be explained.”
“Explain it.”
“I was replacing the medicine because Dr. Harris changed the prescription.”
“Then why pour it into the sink?”
Valerie’s voice became sharper.
“You are watching fragments without context.”
Rosa handed the tablet to Alejandro.
“Call the police.”
Valerie turned toward the elevator.
Hospital security blocked her path.
She began shouting that the family was abusing her.
Sophie covered her ears.
Rosa closed the door to protect her from the noise.
Then she faced Alejandro.
“We need to go to your house.”
“Why?”
“Because Marissa once told me never to trust a medicine cabinet that had been reorganized.”
Alejandro stared at her.
“What does that mean?”
“I never knew.”
“She said it six weeks before the accident.”
Rosa stayed with Sophie while Alejandro went home with Detective Nina Brooks.
Valerie’s bedroom closet had been emptied.
Two suitcases were missing.
She had prepared to leave.
The medicine cabinet in the upstairs bathroom appeared normal.
Pain relievers stood beside vitamins and cough syrup.
Detective Brooks photographed everything before touching it.
Alejandro noticed one shelf looked newer than the others.
He removed it.
A shallow compartment had been built into the wall.
Inside were empty antibiotic bottles, disposable syringes, forged prescription labels, and three sealed envelopes.
One envelope carried Sophie’s name.
Another carried Alejandro’s.
The third carried Marissa’s.
Detective Brooks opened the envelope with Marissa’s name.
Inside was a copy of her highway accident report.
Several lines had been highlighted.
BRAKE FAILURE SUSPECTED.
VEHICLE MAINTENANCE PERFORMED TWO DAYS BEFORE COLLISION.
The mechanic’s signature belonged to a company Alejandro recognized.
May you like
Lane Automotive Services.
Valerie’s last name before marriage had been Lane.
