Chapter 9 - The Letter with the Wrong Date
The letter was dated three days after Nora's funeral. It instructed Stillwater Outreach to provide private care for Lily and to keep all details away from the household staff. At the bottom was Nora's full name, printed above an elegant signature.
I stared at the date until Ethan called to ask whether I'd opened his email.
"Nora was dead when this was written," I said.
"Vivienne says it's a scan of an older approval entered into the system late."
"Then whoever entered it should have the original."
Ethan sent the file to the auditors and Detective Chen. No one declared it forged on sight. The financial team requested the source record, the associated email chain, and an explanation of the date.
In the hospital, Lily refused a visit from a social worker until I promised she wouldn't have to repeat every detail. The woman said that was fine; they could talk about safety instead.
"Will I have to live somewhere else?" Lily asked.
"Not because you told the truth," Ethan said. "We are working with the people helping you so you can come home safely."
After the visit, Lily asked me to take her to the window. The rain had stopped and a delivery truck was unloading flowers behind the hospital.
"Mom used to write notes with yellow tape," she said. "She put a piece on the office door when she didn't want people moving her papers."
"Did you see that after the accident?"
"Yes. It was gone when Vivienne let the man in."
I didn't ask more. Instead I recorded her words and passed them to Nina, who could decide whether they belonged in a formal follow-up.
The next morning Dr. Sethi explained that tests had detected a prescription sedative Lily had never been prescribed. One result could not establish how often she had received it.
May you like
For the first time Ethan had something more than fear: a medical reason to keep Vivienne away.
Then a new problem appeared. Vivienne's lawyer claimed the substance had been given under a physician's order.
