Chapter 9 - THE NIGHT RAVENSWOOD WENT DARK
Three weeks after Alexander's hospitalization, a storm struck the Hudson Valley.
Rain battered Ravenswood.
Wind tore branches from the old oaks.
And at 11:17 p.m., the mansion lost power.
By then, investigators had secured much of the west wing.
But the house remained occupied by a reduced staff.
Mrs. Fairbanks had been suspended.
Richard was staying elsewhere.
Julian had stopped answering calls.
A caretaker named Benjamin Hale was checking the backup generator when he noticed a vehicle near the service entrance.
It had no headlights.
He called security.
Then the line went dead.
At the hospital, Alexander received a call from Miriam.
“Someone has entered Ravenswood.”
He sat upright.
“What?”
“Police are responding.”
Sophie was visiting.
She heard his tone.
“What happened?”
Alexander looked at her.
“Ravenswood.”
Investigators later determined that someone had attempted to access records stored in the west wing.
The intruders were interrupted before they could remove everything.
One suspect fled.
Another was detained.
Among the items recovered was a portable drive containing copies of medical schedules and financial records.
But the most important discovery was not on the drive.
It was in a locked drawer beneath the treatment chair.
A handwritten journal.
Belonging to Dr. Malcolm Voss.
The journal documented Alexander's symptoms over several months.
It included notes about worsening neurological function.
Episodes of confusion.
And repeated treatment sessions.
One entry read:
Patient increasingly resistant. Family requests continuation despite deterioration.
Another read:
Must discuss ethical concerns with R.W.
Then, several pages later:
Discussion unsuccessful. J.W. insists timeline cannot change.
Alexander stared at the initials.
R.W.
Richard Whitmore.
J.W.
Julian Whitmore.
Miriam turned to the final entry.
The handwriting had become hurried.
If this becomes public, they will blame me for everything.
Sophie looked at Alexander.
“Voss knew.”
Alexander nodded slowly.
But then Miriam showed them something else.
A receipt tucked inside the journal.
A payment to a private clinic in Switzerland.
For a patient listed under a false name.
The date was two weeks before Sophie was hired.
Miriam looked grim.
“Dr. Voss may have been preparing to disappear.”
Alexander stared at the receipt.
“Then why didn't he?”
The answer arrived the next morning.
Dr. Malcolm Voss had been found unconscious in a hotel room outside Albany.
He was alive.
But barely.
May you like
And beside him was a handwritten note.
I DIDN'T WANT HIM TO DIE.
