Chapter 6 - THE OLD EMERGENCY ROOM NOTES
St. Anne’s searched Ava’s earlier medical records.
Three emergency visits in two years.
None appeared shocking alone.
A cut near the eyebrow.
A sprained wrist.
A deep bruise on the hip.
But one nurse had written a note fourteen months earlier.
FATHER ANSWERS QUESTIONS FOR CHILD.
CHILD BECOMES QUIET WHEN FATHER ENTERS.
Another note.
MOTHER ATTEMPTS TO EXPLAIN INJURY.
FATHER INTERRUPTS.
And another.
CHILD STATES “DADDY MAD” THEN RETRACTS.
Dean had asked that last note be corrected.
He claimed Ava meant that he was upset about the accident.
The original remained in the audit trail.
Dr. Nina Patel reviewed everything.
“No single note proves abuse.”
She said.
“But patterns matter.”
Laura nodded.
She was beginning to understand patterns.
Dean’s habit of taking Ava into another room when she cried.
His insistence that Laura was “too soft.”
His anger when Ava contradicted him.
His obsession with appearing calm around doctors.
The way he always knew what story to tell before anyone asked.
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Laura had thought he was protecting the family.
He had been controlling the record.
