Chapter 4 - THE DOCTOR WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
Dr. Claudia Harris arrived at the hospital shortly after police searched Valerie’s storage unit.
She claimed she had been informed about Sophie’s pneumonia by a nurse.
Rosa did not allow her inside the room.
“You prescribed the antibiotics,” Rosa said.
“Yes.”
“Did you tell Valerie to replace them with water?”
Harris’s face changed.
“Of course not.”
Alejandro stepped into the corridor.
“Why did you write that I was mentally unfit?”
Harris looked at him.
“I never wrote anything like that.”
Detective Brooks showed her the document.
The signature appeared genuine.
Harris examined it.
“That is my signature.”
“So you did write it.”
“No.”
“I signed a blank medical certification form for your company insurance audit.”
“Valerie brought it to my office.”
Alejandro remembered the audit.
Valerie had volunteered to organize employee health records.
She had obtained access to his personal medical documents through that process.
Harris looked toward Sophie’s room.
“I need to tell you something.”
“Tell the police,” Rosa said.
Harris explained that Marissa visited her shortly before the accident.
She believed someone had entered her home.
Medication bottles had been moved.
Her car keys disappeared and reappeared.
She also believed a woman was following Sophie after school.
“Why did you never tell me?” Alejandro asked.
“Marissa asked me not to.”
“She wanted proof.”
“Everyone keeps saying she wanted proof.”
“And she died while all of you waited.”
Harris lowered her eyes.
“She showed me a photograph of the woman following her.”
“Was it Valerie?”
“Yes.”
The hallway became silent.
Harris said Marissa recognized Valerie from a financial office.
Years earlier, Valerie had worked for a company that handled insurance claims after the death of Sophie’s biological father.
Sophie’s father, Daniel Rivers, died before she was born.
He left a small life-insurance policy.
Marissa believed money had disappeared from the account.
Valerie processed the claim.
“She stole from my sister?” Alejandro asked.
“Marissa believed Valerie and another employee redirected part of the payment.”
“She planned to report them.”
Detective Brooks wrote down every detail.
“Who was the other employee?”
Harris hesitated.
“Your company accountant.”
Alejandro’s stomach tightened.
His chief accountant was Martin Wells.
Martin had worked for Alejandro since the trucking company owned only three vehicles.
He handled payroll, insurance, and every major family account.
Harris continued.
“Marissa believed Martin introduced Valerie to her.”
Alejandro called Martin.
The call went directly to voicemail.
Detective Brooks contacted the trucking company.
Martin had left the office early.
He had removed several backup drives from the accounting room.
A security camera showed him placing them inside a black duffel bag.
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Then he drove away in one of Alejandro’s company trucks.
The vehicle’s route tracker showed it heading toward Austin.
