Chapter 16 - A Place That Didn't Exist
The invoice described thirty days of specialized residential care for a two-year-old who needed "behavioral stabilization." It listed a private suite, overnight staff, and nutritional supervision. The attached brochure showed a sunlit building with children playing in a garden.
"Has anyone even seen this place?" I asked.
Judith had already sent the claim for review. The address belonged to a boarded-up commercial building on the edge of town. The cheerful brochure photographs were generic images purchased from a marketing service. Westbrook had invoiced the trust for care Lily had never received and requested a far larger advance that depended on false assumptions about who could authorize her services.
"It wouldn't have been approved without verification," Judith said. "But smaller reimbursements were paid before we realized the supporting records were unreliable. That failure is ours to investigate too."
I appreciated her admitting it. Everybody else had spent weeks explaining what wasn't their fault.
Naomi arranged for the financial evidence to go to the appropriate investigators. The court case and the potential criminal conduct had to run on separate tracks. There would be no magical order handing Lily's inheritance to me, just as there could be no legitimate order handing it to Diane because she'd won an argument.
At Tessa's house, I spread paper and crayons on the table. Lily drew circles with fierce concentration. When I asked what she wanted for her birthday, she said, "Cake on plate."
"What else?"
She looked puzzled, as if that request used up everything a person could reasonably ask for.
That evening I received a message from Ryan: MOM SAYS SHE CAN FIX THIS IF YOU WITHDRAW THE COMPLAINTS.
I wrote back, YOU CAN START BY TELLING THE TRUTH.
May you like
His reply came a minute later.
SHE DOESN'T KNOW I KEPT THE ORIGINAL VIDEO.
