Chapter 8 - The Doctor Who Came Too Late
Security found the envelope near the service road.
Inside was a hotel notepad stained with blood at one corner.
Dr. Trent had written only four lines.
Eleanor was not incompetent.
The medication was changed without my approval.
Ask Patricia who collected the prescriptions.
Elise’s file was never destroyed.
Adrian called the police.
The resort gates were closed, though guests were not formally prevented from leaving. Security quietly checked vehicles while staff searched the grounds.
Mara returned to the standard wing before midnight.
Patricia was waiting outside her door.
Her silver dress had been replaced by a white robe. She held a glass of wine.
“May I come in?”
“No.”
Patricia glanced along the corridor.
“Then we’ll speak here.”
“About your trust challenge?”
Her eyes narrowed.
“Who told you?”
“The trust.”
Patricia’s composure shifted.
“So it’s true.”
“What?”
“Grandmother named you.”
“You challenged without knowing?”
“Victor said she might have.”
Mara studied her cousin.
Patricia had always seemed certain of her superiority, but now uncertainty moved beneath every word.
“What did Victor promise you?”
“Nothing.”
“Then why file a legal challenge on the first day of a memorial reunion?”
Patricia drank from her glass.
“Because Grandmother was manipulated.”
“By me?”
“By whoever convinced her that you were capable of managing assets you knew nothing about.”
“You mean assets Victor already borrowed against.”
Patricia’s hand tightened.
“That document could have been fabricated.”
“Ask him.”
“I did.”
“And?”
“He explained it.”
“Did he explain why his resort payment failed?”
Patricia’s face went still.
Mara continued.
“The family booking was never paid by Victor.”
“You’re lying.”
“Ask Adrian whose account confirmed it.”
Patricia stepped closer.
“You think a few documents make you important?”
“No. I think they make Victor desperate.”
For a moment, Patricia looked frightened.
Then the old cruelty returned.
“You’ve always wanted what I had.”
“What did you have?”
“A place here. A mother who stayed. A husband. A family that chose me.”
Mara felt the words land, but she no longer bowed beneath them.
“My mother died. She didn’t leave.”
Patricia looked away.
Mara noticed.
“What do you know about her accident?”
“Nothing.”
“Grandmother said Elise was carrying evidence to Frederick.”
Patricia’s wine glass tilted.
A drop fell onto the carpet.
“Grandmother said that?”
“Why does it surprise you?”
“Because she promised never to discuss it.”
The corridor seemed to narrow around them.
“Discuss what?”
Patricia stepped back.
“I misspoke.”
“No. You didn’t.”
Mara blocked her path without touching her.
“What did Grandmother promise not to discuss?”
Patricia’s face hardened.
“You don’t get to interrogate me.”
“Dr. Trent left a message before he disappeared.”
That broke her control.
“Disappeared?”
“He arrived at the marina. Someone took him before he reached the hotel.”
Patricia’s lips parted.
Mara watched the fear in her eyes.
“He said to ask you who collected Grandmother’s prescriptions.”
“I did.”
The answer came too quickly.
“Why?”
“Because I was her administrator.”
“Which pharmacy?”
“I don’t remember.”
“You collected medication for a dying woman and don’t remember where?”
“It changed.”
“Who asked you to change it?”
“No one.”
“Victor?”
Patricia shook her head.
“Raymond?”
“No.”
“Frederick?”
“No.”
“Dr. Trent?”
“He didn’t know.”
The truth escaped before she could stop it.
Mara spoke softly.
“What did you give her?”
Patricia’s eyes filled with tears, but her voice remained angry.
“I gave her what the labels said.”
“Who gave you the bottles?”
Patricia stared toward the elevator.
“Victor said the private pharmacy offered better pain management.”
Mara felt a cold certainty settle inside her.
“Did Grandmother become confused after taking them?”
“She became tired.”
“Did she sign documents?”
“I don’t know.”
“You were her administrator.”
“I brought papers when Victor asked. Sometimes she signed them. Sometimes she threw them at me.”
“What papers?”
“I didn’t read everything.”
“You challenged the trust while knowing your husband changed her medication.”
“I didn’t know he changed it.”
“You just said Dr. Trent didn’t know.”
Patricia realized she had trapped herself.
She lowered her voice.
“Victor told me Dr. Trent approved it later.”
“Did you verify?”
“I trusted my husband.”
“And Grandmother paid the price.”
Patricia slapped her.
The sound echoed down the corridor.
Mara’s cheek burned.
Neither woman moved.
A door opened nearby. Aunt Linda stepped into the hall.
She saw Mara’s face and Patricia’s raised hand.
“What happened?”
Patricia began crying immediately.
“Mara threatened me.”
Linda hurried toward her.
Mara almost admired the speed of the transformation.
Adrian appeared at the far end with security officers.
“Is there a problem?”
Patricia wiped her tears.
“She accused me of poisoning Grandmother.”
Linda stared at Mara.
“You’ve lost your mind.”
Mara looked at Adrian.
“Preserve the corridor recording.”
Patricia’s face changed again.
She had forgotten the cameras.
Adrian nodded.
“Already done.”
Linda turned toward Patricia.
“What did you say before she accused you?”
“Nothing.”
Mara touched her cheek.
“She admitted that Victor supplied medication without Dr. Trent’s knowledge.”
Patricia shook her head.
“That isn’t what I said.”
“The recording will clarify.”
Victor came from the elevator, dressed in trousers and an open-collared shirt.
He assessed the scene instantly.
“What happened?”
Patricia looked at him.
For the first time, she did not move into his arms.
“Where is Dr. Trent?”
Victor’s eyes flickered toward Mara.
“I have no idea.”
“He arrived tonight.”
“I didn’t know he was invited.”
“He was taken near the service road.”
Linda gasped.
Victor remained composed.
“You should let the police handle it.”
Patricia stared at him.
“You told me he approved the medication.”
Victor’s expression hardened.
“This is not the place.”
“Did he?”
“We’ll discuss it privately.”
“Answer me.”
He reached for her arm.
She pulled away.
Mara saw something shift inside Patricia.
Not redemption.
Not yet.
But doubt.
A security officer approached Adrian and whispered to him.
Adrian looked toward Victor.
“Police have found an abandoned vehicle two miles from the resort.”
Victor did not react.
“There was no driver,” Adrian continued. “But they found Dr. Trent’s medical bag.”
Patricia covered her mouth.
“What else?” Mara asked.
May you like
Adrian’s eyes remained on Victor.
“A visitor pass issued by Blue Harbor Development.”
