Chapter 2 - WHAT LILY TOLD THE OFFICER
Two police officers entered the house three minutes later.
One spoke to me.
The other crouched beside Lily.
Marlene tried to leave.
They stopped her.
“I have done nothing wrong.”
The senior officer looked at the red marks on Lily’s shoulder.
“Then this should be simple.”
I gave them the prescription bottle.
The hospital paper.
Then I told them exactly what I had walked in on.
Marlene immediately changed her story.
“I was restraining Lily because she became hysterical.”
The officer looked at my daughter.
“She threatened me.”
Lily’s voice shook.
“What did she say?”
Lily stared at the carpet.
“She said Mom wouldn’t wake up next time.”
Marlene closed her eyes.
“She is twisting my words.”
The officer wrote everything down.
Then he asked about Emily.
I explained the collapse.
They contacted St. Matthew’s.
Ten minutes later, my phone rang.
Dr. Arjun Patel.
Emily’s neurologist.
His voice was careful.
“Mr. Carter, I understand police are with you.”
“Yes.”
“Is Marlene Whitaker there?”
I looked at her.
“Yes.”
“Do not allow her access to any of Emily’s medications.”
My stomach tightened.
“Why?”
A pause.
“We found something in Emily’s bloodwork.”
The room seemed to shrink.
“What?”
“Benzodiazepine levels.”
I stared at the bottle.
“Clonazepam?”
Another pause.
“Yes.”
My knees almost gave out.
“Was she prescribed it?”
“No.”
Marlene spoke from across the room.
“Put him on speaker.”
I ignored her.
Dr. Patel continued.
“We originally thought the positive screen came from emergency treatment.”
“But?”
“The concentration does not match what she received in the ambulance.”
I looked at Lily.
She was watching me.
“Is Emily okay?”
“She is awake.”
My chest loosened slightly.
“Can I talk to her?”
“Soon.”
“What happened last night?”
“We don’t know yet.”
His voice lowered.
“But there is another issue.”
“What?”
“Emily’s anticonvulsant level was far below therapeutic range.”
I froze.
Emily had epilepsy.
Mild.
Controlled for nearly seven years.
She had not had a seizure since before Lily started kindergarten.
“Are you saying she wasn’t taking her medication?”
“I’m saying the level was unexpectedly low.”
“She takes it every morning and night.”
“Who manages her pills?”
I looked at Marlene.
For the last six weeks, after Emily fractured her wrist, Marlene had organized her weekly pill container.
She insisted she was helping.
My skin went cold.
“Her mother.”
Dr. Patel said nothing.
He didn’t need to.
Then the officer beside me lifted the amber bottle.
“Mr. Carter.”
I looked at him.
He held the bottle toward the light.
“There’s residue inside the cap.”
“What kind?”
“We’ll need a lab.”
Marlene suddenly stood.
“You cannot keep me here.”
The officer turned.
“Mrs. Whitaker, I’m asking you to remain while we determine whether there is a medical emergency connected to this medication.”
“I know my rights.”
“Good.”
His voice remained calm.
“Then you know you can request an attorney.”
Marlene looked at me.
The expression on her face was not panic anymore.
It was betrayal.
As if I had betrayed her.
Not the other way around.
“You are destroying this family.”
I almost laughed.
Then Lily whispered from behind me.
“She said that last night too.”
I turned.
“What?”
Lily looked at Marlene.
“She told Mom she was destroying the family.”
Marlene’s face went pale again.
“What else did you hear?”
I asked.
Lily swallowed.
“Mom said she found the papers.”
“What papers?”
Lily shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
Then she added one more thing.
“Grandma said if Mom showed them to you, Grandpa’s company would be gone.”
My stomach tightened.
Emily’s father had been dead for six years.
May you like
His company was supposed to have been sold.
At least, that was what Marlene had always told us.
