Chapter 5 - THE WOMAN IN ROOM NINETEEN
Z
My mother was in room nineteen.
That was the first thing Commander Graves told me.
The second was that she was alive.
I sat down so quickly that the chair scraped across the floor.
"Alive?"
"Yes."
"Is she okay?"
"She's being medically assessed."
"Can I see her?"
"As soon as the care team says she's ready."
I covered my mouth.
Adrian was beside me.
I could feel his hand resting over mine.
But I couldn't look at him.
If I did, I was afraid I would fall apart.
The facility near Lake Geneva had once operated as a private recovery residence.
Its current management was under investigation.
When police arrived, my mother was receiving basic nursing care but had no valid authorization for the transfer from her hospital.
Two workers claimed they'd been told she was moving at her family's request.
They had documentation.
The documentation was false.
And the signature authorizing the transfer appeared to belong to me.
When Rebecca showed me a copy, my stomach turned.
"That's not my signature."
"I know."
"Someone forged it."
"That's one of the issues investigators are examining."
I stared at the page.
My name.
My mother's name.
A carefully constructed lie.
Someone had taken the trust my mother placed in me and turned it into paperwork.
I saw her at the receiving hospital that afternoon.
She looked small beneath the blankets.
Her hair had thinned during treatment, and exhaustion had hollowed her cheeks.
But when she saw me, she smiled.
"Claire."
I crossed the room.
"Mom."
I held her carefully.
She smelled like hospital soap and the lavender lotion I always brought her.
For a long time, neither of us spoke.
Then she whispered, "You came."
I began crying.
"Of course I came."
She touched my face.
"I knew you would."
I shook my head.
"I'm so sorry."
"For what?"
"I should've been there."
She frowned.
"Claire Bennett, don't you dare."
I laughed through my tears.
She squeezed my hand.
"You didn't take me out of that hospital."
"No."
"You didn't lie to those nurses."
"No."
"Then don't make somebody else's cruelty your responsibility."
I closed my eyes.
That sounded like my mother.
Even frightened and exhausted, she was trying to protect me from myself.
Later, she told investigators what she remembered.
A man had informed her that her care was being transferred to a specialist facility.
He claimed the decision had been arranged through Adrian's medical trust.
She asked to call me.
He said I already knew.
She became suspicious when the vehicle left the expected route.
At the private residence, she was told to rest and wait for further instructions.
Then someone brought a phone.
Victor spoke.
He told her that if she cooperated, no one would be harmed.
My mother refused to record the statement he wanted.
"What statement?" I asked.
She looked at me.
"He wanted me to say your marriage was a business arrangement. That Adrian pressured you into it. That you were frightened and wanted to leave."
I felt cold.
"Mom."
"I told him I didn't know everything about your marriage, but I knew my daughter."
Her eyes filled.
"And I told him you would never stay somewhere you didn't want to be."
I hugged her again.
Adrian visited that evening.
He stopped at the doorway.
"Mrs. Bennett."
My mother smiled.
"Adrian."
He looked nervous.
It was almost funny.
The man who could silence an entire boardroom with one glance was frightened of a woman sitting in a hospital bed.
"May I come in?"
She nodded.
"Of course."
He approached.
"I'm sorry your treatment was disrupted."
She studied him.
"Did you arrange it?"
"No."
"Then why are you apologizing for their actions?"
Adrian looked startled.
My mother continued.
"You can apologize for your own mistakes, young man. But don't pretend you control everyone else's."
I nearly laughed.
He smiled faintly.
"Your daughter says things like that."
"She learned from the best."
My mother glanced at me.
Then back at him.
"Do you love her?"
Adrian went completely still.
I felt my face grow warm.
"Mom."
She ignored me.
"Adrian?"
He looked into her eyes.
"Yes."
"Then treat her well."
His voice softened.
"I intend to."
My mother smiled.
"Good."
Then she added, "And eat something. Both of you look terrible."
For the first time in two days, Adrian laughed.
A real laugh.
And I realized we had nearly lost the chance to hear that sound again.
That night, I received a message from Rebecca.
Investigators had detained Marcus Velez for questioning regarding the forged transfer paperwork and other records.
Victor's whereabouts were still being established.
But Rebecca had uncovered another document.
An insurance record from the night of Adrian's highway attack.
Its authorization field contained the same unusual notary reference as the forged medical transfer.
The document was being examined for authenticity.
Rebecca sent a photograph of the reference number.
I stared at it.
Then at Adrian.
"Your accident."
He looked up.
"What?"
I swallowed.
May you like
"Adrian, I think the people who took my mother may have been involved in what happened to you three years ago."
And suddenly, the past we'd been trying not to discuss was standing directly in front of us.
