Chapter 10 - THE DOCTOR WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
Dr. Caleb Mercer was removed from clinical duty before noon.
Emily sat in Raymond’s office when the hospital’s chief medical officer arrived.
“We found irregular access.”
Emily looked up.
“To my records?”
The physician nodded.
“Dr. Mercer accessed your chart seventeen times outside documented appointments.”
Raymond’s expression hardened.
“Did he alter anything?”
“We’re investigating.”
Emily felt nauseated.
“He told me I was anxious.”
The chief medical officer waited.
Emily remembered every appointment.
Every careful question.
Every moment Mercer had asked whether Preston supported her.
“He kept asking if I cried.”
Raymond leaned forward.
Emily continued.
“He asked whether I felt overwhelmed.”
The physician’s face changed.
“Those can be legitimate prenatal screening questions.”
“I know.”
Emily shook her head.
“But he asked whether I had ever felt confused about money.”
Raymond and the doctor exchanged a look.
Emily’s voice broke slightly.
“I thought he was checking for stress.”
Raymond reached across the desk.
Emily took his hand.
“He was building something.”
The doctor nodded reluctantly.
“Possibly.”
A knock sounded.
Hospital counsel entered.
“We have the audio.”
Raymond looked toward Emily.
“You don’t have to listen.”
“Yes, I do.”
The attorney connected the flash drive to a secured laptop.
Preston’s voice filled the room.
Calm.
Casual.
Familiar.
“She’s emotional already.”
Emily stopped breathing.
Another male voice answered.
Mercer.
“Pregnancy is not incapacity.”
Preston laughed.
“I’m not asking you to say pregnancy is incapacity.”
The recording continued.
“I’m asking you to document a pattern.”
Mercer lowered his voice.
“That would require symptoms.”
“You’ll have symptoms.”
Emily’s eyes closed.
Preston continued.
“After delivery, sleep deprivation, stress, hormones.”
A pause.
“People believe anything about a new mother if the chart uses the right language.”
Raymond reached toward the laptop.
Emily stopped him.
“Keep playing.”
Mercer’s voice returned.
“And what do you get?”
Preston answered.
“Control of the trust until she’s competent again.”
Mercer laughed nervously.
“That could be months.”
Preston answered.
“Exactly.”
The recording ended.
Nobody spoke.
Emily stared at the black screen.
Her marriage had been dead before Vanessa’s heel touched her.
She simply had not known where the body was buried.
Raymond broke the silence.
“We send this to the medical board and police.”
Emily nodded.
“And my divorce attorney.”
Raymond watched her carefully.
“You’re sure?”
Emily looked toward him.
“He planned to steal my mother’s legacy while using childbirth as a weapon against me.”
She stood.
“I’m done being sure.”
Her phone began ringing.
PRESTON.
She stared at the name.
Raymond reached toward the phone.
Emily stopped him.
“No.”
She answered.
“Hello?”
Preston spoke immediately.
“Emily, we need to talk before your uncle destroys both families.”
Emily looked toward the paused audio file.
“No.”
“Please.”
It was the first time she had heard him say that word in months.
She remained silent.
Preston continued.
“I can explain everything.”
Emily’s face became still.
“Then explain this.”
She pressed play.
His own recorded voice traveled through the phone.
People believe anything about a new mother if the chart uses the right language.
Preston stopped speaking.
Emily waited.
May you like
For once, silence did not belong to her.
It belonged to him.
