Chapter 12 - THE LAST MONTH OF MOM'S LIFE
I almost dropped the phone.
“What does that mean?”
The caller hung up.
Marissa traced nothing.
Prepaid.
Unregistered.
But the words opened another wound.
Mom’s final month had been terrible.
She stopped eating.
She became confused.
Doctors said the cancer was progressing.
Some days she recognized me.
Other days she believed I was still seventeen.
Vanessa barely visited.
She said she could not handle seeing Mom sick.
Patricia visited constantly.
She managed medication schedules.
She spoke with nurses.
She handled paperwork.
At the time, I was grateful.
Now I hated myself for remembering details differently.
One evening, Mom became unusually disoriented after Patricia brought her tea.
Another time, Mom told me, “Pat keeps asking me to sign.”
I assumed she meant medical paperwork.
Harold requested Mom’s hospice records.
Nothing immediately suggested wrongdoing.
Then a nurse remembered something.
Patricia had repeatedly asked whether certain medications could impair judgment.
“She said she was worried Margaret might sign something she didn’t understand.”
the nurse explained.
Margaret was my mother.
Patricia presented herself as protective.
But investigators found an unsigned stock authorization in Mom’s home office.
It would have given Patricia control of Mom’s Bellamy shares immediately.
Mom never signed it.
After her death, the shares went into trust for Vanessa and me.
Patricia lost her chance.
Until Derek appeared.
Marissa sat across from me.
“We’re not saying your mother’s death was caused by anyone.”
“Cancer was documented.”
“But we are examining whether someone attempted to exploit her condition.”
I nodded.
That was bad enough.
Then Victor Hale woke up.
He asked for police.
His first statement lasted nine minutes.
Patricia had recruited him.
Not Derek.
Patricia introduced Victor to Derek after learning he planned to marry Vanessa.
She recognized Derek’s greed immediately.
Instead of warning Vanessa, she used it.
Victor told investigators Patricia promised Derek two million dollars if he secured Vanessa’s cooperation and neutralized my vote.
“What does neutralized mean?”
Marissa asked.
Victor looked away.
“At first, a proxy.”
“And later?”
“He said Derek became more aggressive.”
“Did Patricia approve the cannon?”
Victor hesitated.
Then nodded.
“She approved a scare.”
“Metal fragments?”
“No.”
“That was Derek.”
I almost felt relief.
Then Victor added,
“But Patricia knew he was planning something at the wedding.”
“Did she try to stop him?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because she said Claire had spent her entire life getting in the way.”
May you like
The woman who held my hand at my mother’s funeral had watched Derek prepare the cannon.
And she had walked away.
