Chapter 3 - THE BROTHER WHO CRIED TOO HARD
Daniel Clarke arrived twenty minutes later in the same black suit he had worn to the funeral. He stopped outside the ICU and stared at Thomas through the glass.
“My God,” he whispered.
Rachel watched him carefully.
Thomas had drifted unconscious again after saying Daniel’s name.
“You were with him the afternoon he collapsed,” Ruiz said.
Daniel nodded. “At the office.”
“What happened?”
“He complained about chest pressure. Then he went down.”
“Did he eat or drink anything?”
“Coffee. Water. Same as always.”
Madison tugged Rachel’s sleeve.
“Uncle Danny brought the blue cup.”
Daniel looked down.
“What blue cup?”
“The one with the lid.”
Rachel frowned. Thomas hated travel mugs. He drank coffee from old ceramic cups and made fun of people who carried insulated tumblers.
Daniel gave a weak laugh.
“Kids remember things weird.”
Madison’s face tightened.
“I remember right.”
Ruiz wrote something down.
Daniel’s smile disappeared.
While Madison slept, Rachel checked Thomas’s phone and found an unsent draft.
To Rachel.
Rach—if anything happens to me, don’t let Daniel handle the company books. I found transfers I can’t explain. I’m checking them tomorrow.
Rachel read it twice.
Then a third time.
Detective Ruiz leaned over her shoulder.
“Time stamp?”
“Sixteen minutes before he collapsed.”
Ruiz took the phone.
Daniel was still at the end of the hallway, talking quietly to a nurse.
Rachel’s grief turned into something hotter.
She walked straight toward him.
“Why did Tom tell me not to trust you?”
Daniel froze.
“What?”
She held up the phone.
His eyes dropped to the screen.
For half a second, Rachel saw panic.
Then he recovered.
“Rachel, whatever he found, I can explain.”
“Then explain it.”
Daniel opened his mouth.
Behind them, Madison woke and pointed toward the elevator.
“Mom.”
A woman in blue hospital scrubs had just stepped out.
Madison buried her face against Rachel’s side.
“That’s the lady from Dad’s room.”
Ruiz turned.
May you like
The woman saw them.
And ran.
