Chapter 7 - ADRIANA’S STORY
Adriana’s defense changed three times.
First:
She had never given Lila anything.
Second:
She had sometimes mixed vitamins or medications into food because Lila resisted swallowing pills.
Third:
Any unprescribed exposure must have been accidental contamination from Adriana’s own prescription.
Each explanation created new questions.
Why hide the bottle?
Why remove part of the label?
Why refill it repeatedly?
Why restrict kitchen staff from preparing Lila’s meals?
Why fire Naomi immediately after Eli saw her?
Why research guardianship?
Why discuss Aurora Pediatric Living?
Her attorney argued that the financial emails were contingency planning.
Adriana had a sick stepdaughter.
Her brother was developing a specialized-care business.
Of course they discussed options.
Possible.
Then digital investigators recovered deleted messages.
Adriana to Grant Sloane:
How soon after a permanent diagnosis can caregiver arrangements change?
Sloane:
Depends on court and trustee. Do not assume guardianship. Vincent has priority unless disqualified or unavailable.
Adriana:
What makes someone unavailable?
That question chilled me.
Grant Sloane insisted he believed Adriana was asking hypothetically.
There was no evidence he knew she was exposing Lila to anything.
He cooperated.
His representation ended once investigators showed him the broader evidence.
Then Adriana made her final mistake.
She contacted Naomi.
Through an intermediary.
The message offered money.
Not explicitly for silence.
For:
“lost wages, relocation, and hardship caused by misunderstanding.”
Naomi brought it directly to investigators.
From that moment, Adriana’s legal problems expanded.
I still did nothing to her.
That frustrated some men around me.
One of my oldest associates, Salvatore Greco, came to my office late one night.
“You want this handled?”
“No.”
He looked at me carefully.
“You know what I mean.”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“No.”
“Vincent.”
“If anyone touches her, threatens her, follows her, or scares a witness, I will consider that an act against Lila.”
Salvatore stared.
That language he understood.
“You’re letting courts handle this?”
“Yes.”
He almost smiled.
“Twenty years ago you would have laughed at yourself.”
“Twenty years ago I was an idiot.”
He laughed once.
Then became serious.
“What about what she did?”
I looked through the glass wall toward the city.
“For once, I want my daughter to grow up knowing the truth survived without somebody disappearing.”
May you like
That was the moment I began dismantling more than my marriage.
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