Chapter 8 - What Theodore Remembered
Theodore spent three weeks in the hospital.
Doctors found evidence of prolonged sedation, malnutrition, untreated heart problems, and repeated medication overdoses. His memory came in fragments, but each day he recovered another part of the truth.
Reagan had begun altering his medication almost a year before the fake funeral.
Whenever Theodore became suspicious, Carter convinced him that the confusion was caused by illness.
They isolated him from Finnley, intercepted calls, and created false messages to make father and son distrust each other.
When Theodore threatened to change his will, Carter prepared the forged documents.
Reagan wanted the house and accounts.
Carter wanted control of Hale Restoration, which owned valuable historic properties across the state.
Their original plan had been to declare Theodore mentally incompetent.
But Theodore secretly met an old employee and created the storage unit.
He copied documents, recorded conversations, and wrote the letter to Finnley.
When Reagan discovered one of the recording devices, she and Carter accelerated their plan.
They drugged Theodore, removed him from the house, and staged his death.
The closed casket contained bags of sand beneath funeral cloth.
A corrupt physician signed the death certificate using falsified records. The physician later fled the country, but federal authorities began extradition proceedings.
Theodore was held at Northbridge under the alias Thomas Hall. Carter told staff that Theodore suffered from violent dementia and that no family members were allowed to visit.
When Northbridge administrators began asking questions, Reagan moved him to Ashcroft Lodge.
After the hidden room was discovered, they transported him to Coldwater.
“They needed my thumbprint for account approvals,” Theodore told investigators. “When I refused, they increased the drugs.”
“Why keep you alive after taking the money?” Maya asked.
“Some properties could not be sold without additional authorization.”
Theodore looked toward Finnley.
“And Reagan enjoyed telling me that my son hated me.”
Finnley sat beside the hospital bed.
“I never hated you.”
“I know that now.”
“I should have done more.”
“You tried. I was the one who let her close every door.”
Finnley shook his head.
“You were being poisoned.”
“I also ignored things before that. I wanted peace so badly that I pretended not to see what she was becoming.”
Theodore reached for his son’s hand.
“I am sorry.”
Finnley had imagined this conversation during countless prison nights. In some versions, he shouted. In others, he walked away.
Now, looking at his father’s fragile hand, anger seemed smaller than the time they had already lost.
“You left me the key,” Finnley said.
“It was all I could do.”
“It was enough.”
Theodore gave testimony from his hospital room.
His account matched the recordings, financial records, camera footage, and medical evidence.
Carter eventually accepted a plea agreement and admitted his role. He also revealed that Reagan had planned to kill Theodore once the final property transfer was completed.
She intended to make the death look like a natural consequence of his heart condition.
The police had found him only two days before the planned overdose.
Reagan refused every offer.
She insisted she was Theodore’s rightful wife and claimed that everyone else had conspired against her.
Her trial was scheduled for the spring.
This time, Finnley would not sit at the defense table.
May you like
He would sit beside his father.
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