Chapter 4 - The Story Patricia Told
By breakfast, Patricia had called half the family.
“An employee lost control of a stroller,” she told Aunt Helen over speakerphone. “Daniel was distraught. Of course the little girl is confused.”
Daniel took the phone away. “That is not what Sophie said.”
Patricia's eyes flashed. “You're going to believe a toddler over your own mother?”
“I'm going to investigate.”
At the hospital, Emily learned she had been removed from the household schedule. A message from estate manager Marcus Venn informed her that her room would be cleared by Friday and her final paycheck mailed. She showed the message to her friend Tessa Park, a legal-aid attorney she had met while volunteering at a children's center.
“Don't delete anything,” Tessa said. “Photograph your injuries. Get your own medical exam. And write down what you saw before someone convinces you it didn't happen.”
Emily did. On paper, the scene came back with awful precision: the sharp click of the stroller brake being released, Patricia's voice at the top of the hill, Sophie's pink shoe flashing between the wheels. Emily remembered an odd detail. Patricia hadn't looked down the hill until Emily screamed.
At noon, a photographer from a local society magazine arrived to collect pictures of Patricia's children's charity lunch. Emily saw him in the hospital parking lot speaking to a man in a gray coat.
The photographer carried a tablet. On its screen was an image of the driveway. He pinched the picture tighter until only Emily, running toward the stroller, remained in view.
“Don't crop that,” Emily called.
The photographer jumped. “It's not for publication.”
“Then why remove the top of the hill?”
The man in the gray coat stepped between them. “Miss Carter, you'd be wise to stop making accusations.”
Tessa appeared behind Emily. “And you would be wise to identify yourself.”
May you like
He handed over a business card: MARTIN VALE, FAMILY COUNSEL.
Across the back, written in blue ink, was an appointment for a guardianship hearing three days away.
