Chapter 5 - The Medical Route
Elena read the words until they blurred.
"Medical route?"
Adrian called attorney Rachel Kim before they even left the estate.
Rachel arrived at the mansion that afternoon with two associates and one warning.
"Do not assume the guardianship draft is the only filing."
She searched county records.
There it was.
A petition had been prepared but not yet accepted by the court.
Attached were statements from a private physician Elena had never met.
Postpartum confusion.
Erratic behavior.
Poor judgment.
Risk to infant safety.
Elena laughed in disbelief.
"A doctor I've never seen diagnosed me?"
Rachel looked grim.
"He didn't diagnose you. He wrote an opinion based on materials someone provided."
Photos.
Texts.
Video clips.
Elena crying at 3 a.m.
Elena forgetting where she put her phone.
Elena snapping at Adrian after four hours of sleep.
Ordinary exhaustion, edited into a case.
Then Rachel found the doctor's invoice.
Paid by V.M. Consulting.
Victoria Marsh.
Adrian's expression hardened.
"Find her."
Daniel was already trying.
Meanwhile, the police lab called.
The spilled milk contained a dangerous household chemical compound that should never have been in food.
They would not speculate how it got there.
But one thing was clear.
The bottle had been contaminated after Elena prepared it.
Elena sat down.
Lily covered her mouth.
Adrian asked the detective, "Could Noah have been seriously hurt?"
The detective answered carefully.
"Yes."
Elena looked at Lily.
The slap replayed in her mind.
She crossed the room and stood in front of her.
"I hit the person who saved my son."
Lily's eyes filled.
"You were scared."
"That doesn't make it right."
For the first time, Lily nodded.
"No, ma'am. It doesn't."
Elena respected her more for saying it.
Then Daniel entered holding a laptop.
"I found Victoria's car."
"Where?"
"At St. Catherine's Medical Center."
Elena frowned.
That was the hospital where Noah had been born.
Daniel turned the screen.
Security footage showed Victoria entering the medical records office with a man Elena recognized immediately.
May you like
Dr. Stephen Cole.
Noah's pediatrician.
