Chapter 6 - Two Fourteen in the Morning
At 2:14 a.m. three weeks earlier, I had been helping stabilize a child in the hospital's respiratory unit. I could prove I was there. My badge scan, staffing assignment, and the patient care record all placed me inside a restricted treatment area.
"An electronic signature can be misused without you being present," Naomi said. "We need to preserve the authentication records before they disappear."
Judith agreed to have the trust's compliance lawyer secure the original submission, including the email and device information. I reported that my authorization might have been forged. It felt strange speaking so carefully when I wanted to pound my fists against a wall.
Ryan called while I was standing in the parking lot. "You went to Dad's trustee?"
"Did you use my name on those invoices?"
"Mom handles the paperwork."
"Your daughter was hiding crackers in her coat, Ryan. Answer my question."
He went quiet. Then he said, "Everything Dad left should have gone to me. I built that business with him. I was his son."
"Lily is your daughter."
"Don't lecture me about family."
That evening I changed every password Ryan had ever known, including the login for our old household email. I found a recovery notice showing someone had added Diane's address to the account in May. He'd told me he needed access to print insurance forms.
Lily sat on Tessa's kitchen rug building a crooked tower of blocks. When a block fell, she froze and looked toward the doorway. "Sorry," she whispered.
"It's a block," Tessa said gently. "It's supposed to fall sometimes."
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My phone rang again. This time it was Iris.
"I still have the messages Diane sent when I babysat," she said. "And one video. I didn't understand why she wanted me to keep the camera pointed at the floor until I saw that petition."
