Chapter 3 - The Code Word)
At 6:15 the next morning, Claire locked herself in the upstairs bathroom and called Emily again.
She kept the water running so Daniel could not hear.
"I need a plan."
Emily did not ask why.
"Can you leave the house alone?"
"Not without him noticing."
"Can you get to the appointment separately?"
"He'll insist on driving."
Emily's voice became careful.
"Has he physically prevented you from leaving before?"
Claire looked at the locked bathroom door.
There were ways to imprison someone without locks.
Taking their keys because they were tired.
Moving money into joint accounts.
Calling their sister dramatic.
Telling friends Claire needed rest.
Standing in doorways during arguments.
Making every boundary sound irrational.
"Not exactly."
"Has he ever grabbed you?"
Claire remembered fingers around her upper arm two weeks earlier when she tried to walk away from an argument.
"Yes."
"Shoved you?"
Claire said nothing.
Emily waited.
"Once."
"Claire, I need you to listen to me. You do not have to convince me that something is wrong before you're allowed to be protected."
Claire pressed her free hand against the sink.
"What happens when I get there?"
"I'll make sure Dr. Morgan sees you. If you say you want him out, we remove him."
"He'll tell her I'm unstable."
"Then she can evaluate what she sees."
"He has months of messages."
"You say you didn't write them."
"What if they believe him?"
Emily paused.
"Then we make it harder not to believe you."
Claire frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"There's a patient safety button in every exam room. Red switch on the wall panel. If you're frightened or someone prevents you from speaking privately, press it."
"Won't that bring people running?"
"Not immediately. In prenatal rooms it first sends a silent alert to the nursing station unless it's held for three seconds."
Claire remembered seeing the button during prior appointments.
"If I press it once?"
"I'll see the room number and timestamp."
"Daniel might see me."
"Then use a code phrase instead."
"What phrase?"
Emily thought.
"'I need more water.'"
Claire almost smiled.
"That's it?"
"If you say it twice, I'll treat it as a request to remove everyone else."
A knock struck the bathroom door.
Claire jumped.
"Claire?" Daniel called.
"I'm getting dressed."
"You've been in there twenty minutes."
"I'll be out."
Silence.
Then his footsteps moved away.
Emily lowered her voice.
"One more thing."
"What?"
"I checked with information security."
Claire held her breath.
"They can't release full access logs to me. But they confirmed your portal was accessed repeatedly from a device that has never been registered to you."
Claire closed her eyes.
"Can they identify it?"
"They can identify the network and device signature. A formal request will preserve it."
"Do that."
"I already submitted a security hold."
Claire felt tears threaten for the first time that morning.
Not because she was frightened.
Because someone had acted before asking whether Daniel would approve.
"Thank you."
"Claire, there's another issue."
"What?"
"The psychiatric evaluation note attached to your appointment appeared at 10:46 yesterday morning."
Claire frowned.
"I know Daniel called."
"No. This wasn't his phone call."
Emily continued.
"It's a formal request submitted under your identity."
Claire gripped the sink.
"Request for what?"
"Temporary incapacity assessment."
The room seemed to narrow.
That was the phrase from the company resolution.
Medical certification.
Temporary incapacity.
Daniel had built a bridge between Claire's medical chart and her voting authority.
"Who receives that request?"
"Dr. Morgan."
"Has she seen it?"
"Not yet. She's in surgery this morning and comes straight to clinic."
Claire thought fast.
"Don't warn her before I arrive."
"Why?"
"Because if Daniel knows she's suspicious, he'll change his story."
Emily understood.
"You want him to talk."
"Yes."
"That could be dangerous."
"It already is."
Another knock.
Harder.
"Claire."
Daniel again.
Claire turned off the faucet.
"I have to go."
"Remember the phrase."
"I need more water."
"Twice."
Claire ended the call.
When she opened the door, Daniel stood six feet away.
Fully dressed.
Dark green henley.
Dark jeans.
Car keys in his hand.
Margaret waited at the bottom of the stairs in her olive cardigan.
Daniel looked at Claire's phone.
"Who were you talking to?"
"Thomas."
"About what?"
"Work."
"Let me see."
Claire stared at him.
"What?"
"Your phone."
"No."
His face remained calm.
"I want to make sure you're not upsetting yourself before the appointment."
"You're not reading my messages."
Margaret called from downstairs.
"Daniel, don't argue with her."
Claire almost laughed.
With her.
Not each other.
Daniel stepped aside.
"Fine."
He smiled.
"We'll let Dr. Morgan decide what's reasonable."
During the drive, Daniel kept one hand on the wheel and the other relaxed near the center console.
Margaret sat in the back.
Claire watched buildings pass outside.
At one stoplight, she noticed Daniel's phone.
A notification appeared.
Bennett Home Medical Supply.
Document ready for signature.
Daniel turned the screen face down.
Claire's pulse quickened.
The transfer resolution.
He expected to leave the hospital with enough medical authority to sign it.
They pulled into the clinic parking garage at 10:27.
Daniel parked.
Margaret opened her door.
Claire reached for hers.
Daniel locked the car.
Claire turned.
He stared straight ahead.
"Before we go in, understand something."
Margaret remained still in the back seat.
Daniel finally looked at Claire.
"Do not embarrass us."
Claire's heartbeat slowed.
Strangely, completely.
"What happens if I do?"
He leaned closer.
"You'll prove everything we've been telling them."
Then he unlocked the doors.
Claire stepped out.
Twenty minutes later, while a receptionist checked her blood pressure, Nurse Emily passed the open doorway.
Their eyes met.
Claire said nothing.
Emily said nothing.
But as she walked by, she lifted an empty paper cup.
A tiny gesture.
A reminder.
Claire understood.
If Daniel tried to take her voice, she had two weapons.
A sentence.
May you like
And a red button.
She did not yet know that Daniel had arrived with one of his own.
