Chapter 8 - THE DOCTOR WHO HELPED BUILD THE LIE
Dr. Malcolm Reeves was found the following morning.
A truck driver discovered him beside a rural road.
He had been beaten.
His left wrist was broken.
Michael had taken his phone, money, and medical bag.
Reeves asked for an attorney before answering questions.
Then investigators showed him the messages from Evelyn.
They showed him the empty trainer pen.
They showed him the crushed peanuts from Michael’s storage unit.
Finally, they showed him a photograph of Anna’s cut brake line.
Reeves stopped asking for an attorney.
He asked for protection.
Detective Collins traveled to Wyoming.
I listened to the interview remotely.
Reeves admitted preparing the false psychological affidavit against me.
He admitted telling guests at the luncheon that I had forgotten Lily’s medication.
He admitted advising Evelyn that an allergic reaction would create “the right kind of public concern.”
He claimed he never agreed to kill Lily.
Collins leaned across the table.
“You told Evelyn how long a child could survive without epinephrine.”
“I provided general medical information.”
“You attended the luncheon and did nothing while Lily stopped breathing.”
“I froze.”
“You are an emergency physician.”
Reeves looked down.
“I knew there were paramedics nearby.”
“They arrived fourteen minutes later.”
He began crying.
The tears did not change the facts.
Reeves claimed Evelyn told him one real injector would remain available.
Michael was supposed to remove only the backup.
But Michael took both.
Why?
Because a more severe emergency created a stronger custody case.
Michael had escalated the plan without telling the others.
Evelyn wanted Lily frightened and hospitalized.
Michael was willing to let her die.
If Lily died, the trust would not automatically return to me.
Anna’s will directed the money to a childhood allergy research foundation.
However, Michael had prepared forged amendment papers naming himself as beneficiary.
The documents were inside his storage unit.
He intended to steal the trust whether Lily lived or died.
Reeves also admitted knowing about Anna’s crash.
He did not cut the brake line.
But he examined Michael the morning afterward.
Michael had a deep cut across his right hand.
He claimed he injured himself repairing a sink.
Reeves stitched the wound privately and created no medical record.
Evelyn paid him fifty thousand dollars.
“What did you think happened?” Collins asked.
“I knew Anna had confronted them.”
“And you stayed silent?”
“I had debts.”
“So did Michael.”
Reeves shook his head.
“Michael’s debt was not the only reason.”
“What else?”
“He hated Daniel.”
I stared at the screen.
Michael was four years younger than I was.
Growing up, I protected him.
I helped pay his college tuition.
I gave him his first job.
After Anna died, I thanked him for saving me from falling apart.
Reeves described a different version of my brother.
Michael believed our parents favored me.
He believed Anna’s family money made me look successful.
He believed Lily’s inheritance should have benefited the entire Hart family.
Evelyn encouraged that resentment.
She told Michael I had stolen the life he deserved.
She promised that after I lost custody, he would become Lily’s guardian and public hero.
Then he could control the trust.
Reeves leaned toward Collins.
“Michael did not run because he fears prison.”
“Why did he run?”
“He is going after Rebecca Moore.”
Anna’s trust amendment named Rebecca as Lily’s backup guardian.
As long as Rebecca remained alive and legally eligible, Michael could not inherit guardianship even if I died.
Michael had taken Dr. Reeves’s identification and medical bag.
He was traveling west.
Rebecca lived outside Portland.
May you like
I called her immediately.
The call went unanswered.
