Chapter 5 - The Green Folder
"Why didn't anyone tell me?" Julian asked.
"We tried to arrange follow-up," Dr. Patel replied.
"The records show repeated cancellations. I'm not assigning a cause until we verify who made them."
Lena tugged Julian's cuff.
"The green folder," she whispered.
Julian turned toward her.
"What green folder?"
"The one Meredith kept in the locked desk. She said it was grown-up stuff."
"Did you open it?"
"No. I heard her talking on the phone when she thought I was asleep."
"What did she say?"
Lena squeezed Captain Rabbit.
"She said, 'If they run the new test, they're going to ask about the bills.'"
Julian felt anger rise again, hotter because he finally understood how much he had ignored.
He put both feet on the floor and breathed until he could answer calmly.
"Thank you for telling me. You don't have to figure out what it means."
Mae, seated by the window, nodded.
"We'll leave that part to the people whose job it is."
Later, Julian called his lawyer, Rachel Hsu, and explained the clinic letter, the locked desk, and his assault.
"Do not enter the house to search for evidence," Rachel warned.
"Preserve what you already have. Let investigators obtain records legally."
"My daughter's medical care may have been affected."
"Then make the medical team your first priority."
Julian closed his eyes.
He had handed Meredith the appointment calendar after they married because his maintenance-contract job kept him away three days a week.
He had mistaken a packed calendar for good care.
Mae touched his arm.
"What about Emma's trust?"
Julian looked up.
Emma's life-insurance money had gone into a trust for Lena's future care and education.
Meredith prepared the expense paperwork; Julian approved transfers without studying every attachment.
He opened the account on his phone.
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The balance was $8,914.
Six months earlier, it had been more than $90,000.
