Chapter 5 - THE WARNING
I pulled open the door.
A man in a baseball cap was already running down the stairs.
Rosa grabbed my arm.
“Do not follow him.”
“He heard everything.”
“That is why you cannot follow him.”
We locked the door.
Ten minutes later, Detective Ellis arrived with two officers.
They searched the building but found no one.
A rock had been thrown through the hallway window.
A note was wrapped around it.
STOP DIGGING OR YOUR MOTHER LOSES MORE THAN INSURANCE.
Detective Ellis photographed the message.
“This changes things,” she said.
“Threatening a witness is a crime.”
“Can you prove Renata sent it?”
“Not yet.”
I gave her the flash drive.
She watched the hallway footage twice.
The video showed me racing toward the bathroom.
Four minutes later, it showed two security guards entering.
It showed Renata grabbing Lily’s arm after I was handcuffed.
Most importantly, it showed the curling iron on the floor before the guards arrived.
That destroyed Renata’s claim that I had brought it into the bathroom.
Detective Ellis copied the files.
“This may clear you.”
“It does not protect Lily.”
“No.”
“But it gives us leverage.”
Rosa left through the back entrance.
I returned to the hospital.
When I reached my mother’s room, her bed was empty.
A nurse hurried toward me.
“Ms. Brooks, your mother had a reaction during treatment.”
“What kind of reaction?”
“Her blood pressure dropped dangerously.”
“She is in intensive care.”
My knees nearly gave out.
A doctor explained that the dialysis solution had been improperly balanced.
The machine’s programming had been changed before treatment.
The hospital called it a technical error.
Detective Ellis did not.
She requested security footage.
At three that afternoon, Grant Callahan called me.
His voice was cold.
“You went to the police with private security footage.”
“I gave them evidence.”
“You involved my family in a criminal investigation.”
“Your fiancée burned your daughter.”
“Renata says you are trying to extort us.”
“I have not asked you for a cent.”
“You contacted a former employee.”
“She contacted me.”
There was silence.
Then his voice changed.
Not softer.
More uncertain.
“Did Lily really give you that drawing?”
“Yes.”
“Did she write the words herself?”
“Yes.”
Another silence followed.
I could hear him breathing.
Then Renata’s voice sounded faintly in the background.
“Grant, who are you talking to?”
His tone hardened again.
“Stay away from my home.”
“Protect your daughter.”
The line went dead.
That evening, Detective Ellis returned.
The hospital camera had captured a technician entering the machine room before my mother’s treatment.
The man wore a cap and kept his face lowered.
It was the same cap worn by the man who ran from my apartment.
May you like
A logo was visible on the back of his jacket.
CALLAHAN ESTATE SECURITY.
