Chapter 8 - The Doctor Who Never Examined Her
Dr. Ellen Voss refused to speak with Claire.
Her lawyer did not.
He called Maya Wednesday morning.
“My client denies participating in any fraudulent scheme.”
Maya put the call on speaker.
Claire listened.
“Did Dr. Voss examine Mrs. Reed?” Maya asked.
“I cannot discuss confidential medical information.”
Claire leaned toward the phone.
“I am supposedly the patient.”
The lawyer hesitated.
Maya continued.
“Then we can obtain records through the proper process.”
“We would prefer that.”
That phrase told Maya everything.
“They’re scared,” she said after hanging up.
“Of Marcus?”
“Of licensing authorities.”
Claire’s temporary custody hearing was the next day.
Marcus spent Wednesday building pressure.
He froze their joint personal credit line.
He instructed chalet staff not to give Claire access to the main residence.
He told Bellamy Alpine’s communications department not to respond to her.
And at three o’clock, he sent a settlement proposal.
Maya read it aloud.
“Claire resigns as executive chair for twelve months. Marcus retains CEO authority. Claire withdraws objections to the incapacity process. Both parties agree to private mediation regarding Ethan.”
Claire laughed.
“He stages abuse, then offers me access to my own child if I hand him the company.”
“The proposal doesn’t say that.”
“It doesn’t have to.”
“There’s another section.”
Maya kept reading.
Claire would receive twenty million dollars through a marital settlement.
In exchange, she would transfer her voting rights for five years.
Twenty million sounded enormous.
Her forty-four-percent stake was worth several times that.
And control of Bellamy Alpine was worth more than a settlement number.
Claire folded the paper.
“No.”
Maya watched her.
“Don’t reject it emotionally.”
“I’m rejecting it mathematically.”
That evening Ethan woke from a nap crying.
Claire sat beside him.
“What happened?”
“Grandma mad.”
“She isn’t here.”
“Grandma say Mommy goes away.”
Claire’s spine stiffened.
“When did she say that?”
He rubbed his eyes.
“When I cry.”
Claire fought the urge to ask more.
She knew enough now not to interrogate a toddler.
She documented his spontaneous statement and called Dana Wilkes.
Dana arranged a trained child interviewer rather than allowing family members to question him repeatedly.
Claire appreciated the distinction.
This was not a game where every frightened sentence could be turned into ammunition.
It was Ethan’s life.
Later that night Sophie arrived carrying a folder.
“I kept housekeeping schedules.”
“Why?”
“Because Margaret blamed staff for everything.”
The logs showed Margaret had ordered Ethan’s meals removed twice before Claire returned.
One notation, written by a junior housekeeper, read:
Mrs. Reed said no tray for Ethan until Mrs. Claire arrives.
Another said:
Child asking for milk. Told wait per M.R.
Claire felt nauseated.
“Who wrote this?”
“Carla.”
“Will she testify?”
Sophie hesitated.
“She’s scared.”
“Of losing her job?”
“Her husband works maintenance for Bellamy Alpine.”
The company had become a cage.
Not merely for Claire.
For everyone dependent on Marcus.
At 10:06 p.m., Maya received a secure file from Cedar House’s records counsel.
No subpoena had been required after all.
The clinic had reviewed the matter and discovered what it called “significant irregularities.”
The intake paperwork claimed Claire attended an evaluation two weeks earlier.
Security logs showed her name checked in.
But building-access video showed the woman who entered was not Claire.
The visitor wore sunglasses, a hat, and a mask.
She presented a copy of Claire’s ID.
The clinician had conducted the first part of the appointment in a private office.
Then Dr. Voss had completed her opinion using extensive written materials supplied by “family members.”
Claire stared at the still image.
“Who is that woman?”
Sophie leaned closer.
“I don’t know.”
Hannah studied the coat.
Then she whispered, “I do.”
May you like
Claire looked at her.
“That coat belonged to Margaret.”
