Chapter 3 - The Drawer With His Name
Nora reached for her phone.
Detective Chen reached it first.
"Don't," she said.
Nora's eyes flashed. "You can't take my property without a warrant."
"I'm not taking it. I'm asking you not to destroy potential evidence while officers are present."
The phone stopped ringing.
Then it rang again.
GRANT.
Ethan stared at Nora. "Answer it."
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because I don't perform for you."
Lily flinched at her tone.
That was enough for Ethan.
He carried his daughter upstairs while Detective Chen sent an officer toward Nora's study. The desk drawer Lily described was locked.
"Key?" Chen asked.
Nora said nothing.
A locksmith opened it ten minutes later.
Inside were three neat folders, a passport, two flash drives, and a black velvet pouch.
No green bottle.
But one folder had Ethan's full name written across the tab.
Chen opened it.
Medical records.
Ethan recognized some of them. Blood tests from the past four months. Emergency-room summaries. A neurologist's consultation after he'd fainted during a board dinner.
Then he saw pages he had never seen.
A letter stated that he had "recurrent confusion, impulse instability, and possible substance dependency."
At the bottom was the signature of Dr. Adrian Vale, the private physician Nora had insisted Ethan start seeing after his first unexplained illness.
"I never told Vale I used drugs," Ethan said.
Chen turned the page.
There was a second document.
PETITION FOR TEMPORARY MEDICAL CONSERVATORSHIP.
The proposed conservator was Nora Mercer.
The filing date was tomorrow.
Ethan read it twice.
Then he saw the attached statement from Grant.
It described Ethan as erratic, forgetful, and increasingly incapable of making business decisions.
The final page contained a declaration that Lily might be unsafe in Ethan's sole care.
Lily leaned around his arm.
"Daddy?"
Ethan closed the folder before she could read more.
Chen looked at Nora.
"You planned to file this tomorrow?"
Nora's face stayed smooth.
"I planned to protect my family."
A uniformed officer hurried in.
"Detective? We checked the kitchen cameras."
Chen turned.
"And?"
"The last forty-eight hours are gone."
Ethan felt cold.
May you like
The officer swallowed.
"The deletion was authorized from Mr. Mercer's administrator account."
