Chapter 6 - THE NIGHT EMMA STOPPED BREATHING
Richard sat perfectly still.
The hospital room disappeared around him.
Anna could see it on his face.
He was back there.
Two years earlier.
Emma’s final night.
Emma had been weak, but awake.
They watched half a movie.
Leo had been asleep in the nursery.
Anna had gone home around nine.
At 11:30, Emma complained of dizziness.
At midnight, her breathing changed.
By the time paramedics arrived, she was barely conscious.
She died at the hospital at 2:06 a.m.
Everyone said the cancer had finally won.
Richard believed them.
Why wouldn’t he?
She was terminally ill.
Now a toxicology report suggested something else had been in her bloodstream.
Detective Mills asked quietly:
“Who had access to her medications?”
Richard looked sick.
“Me. Nurses. Anna occasionally.”
Anna’s heart stopped.
Mills looked at her.
“I never changed her medications.”
“I didn’t say you did.”
Richard immediately said:
“Anna took care of Emma better than I did some days.”
Anna looked at him.
It was meant as support.
It still hurt.
“What medication was found?” Mills asked.
Richard read the report.
“Clonazepam.”
Emma had taken anxiety medication occasionally.
But not that one.
The report showed an extremely high level.
Combined with opioid pain medication, it could suppress breathing.
“Did Emma have a prescription?” Mills asked.
“No.”
“Anyone else in the household?”
Richard searched his memory.
Then stopped.
“Vanessa.”
Anna stared.
“What?”
“Not then.”
Richard looked ashamed.
“Last year, she mentioned she had a prescription for panic attacks.”
Detective Mills held up a hand.
“That does not mean she had the same medication two years earlier.”
Richard nodded.
“I know.”
But the room had changed.
Once suspicion enters grief, every memory becomes evidence.
Anna hated it.
Detective Mills contacted the medical examiner.
Reopening a death investigation would not happen because of one video and one lab sheet.
They needed authentication.
Original records.
Chain of custody.
Emma had anticipated that.
The scheduled file included the laboratory’s case number.
Real.
The technician’s name.
Real.
A second sample had been preserved.
Still potentially available.
Richard whispered:
“She planned all of this while she was dying.”
Anna looked at him.
“She was protecting Leo.”
“And me.”
His voice broke.
“I didn’t believe her.”
“You didn’t know.”
“She told me people were following her.”
“She was sick.”
“I told her the medication was making her paranoid.”
Anna had no answer.
Because that was probably exactly what Vanessa and Marcus had counted on.
At 10:15 a.m., Detective Mills received another call.
Marcus’s laptop had been opened under warrant.
Investigators found spreadsheets.
Trust structures.
Richard’s travel schedule.
Anna’s work schedule.
Leo’s preschool information.
And one folder labeled:
PHASE THREE.
Inside were photographs of Anna.
Her apartment.
Her car.
The grocery store.
The gym.
One document listed potential “removal strategies.”
Anna felt physically ill.
Transfer employment.
Family conflict.
False theft allegation.
Restraining order.
Mental-health concern.
Nothing violent.
At least not on paper.
But the purpose was obvious.
Get Anna away from Leo.
Because Anna was successor trustee.
Detective Mills looked at Richard.
“This appears to have been planned over a long period.”
Richard nodded numbly.
Then she opened another file.
PHASE FOUR.
The document contained only one line.
AFTER MARRIAGE, INITIATE PATERNITY REVIEW.
Richard frowned.
“What?”
Anna leaned closer.
A laboratory request form was attached.
Child:
Leo Bennett.
Alleged father:
Richard Bennett.
Richard stood.
“What the hell is this?”
Detective Mills read further.
Someone had already submitted a DNA sample.
Not Leo’s.
Richard’s.
Obtained from a discarded drinking cup.
The requested comparison was pending.
“Why would Vanessa challenge Leo’s paternity?” Anna asked.
Richard stared at the document.
Then suddenly understood.
“If Leo isn’t legally my son…”
Anna finished it.
“Your control of Emma’s trust could be challenged.”
Detective Mills nodded.
“Depending on the trust language.”
Richard shook his head.
“Leo is my son.”
“I’m not questioning that emotionally.”
“He’s biologically mine too.”
Mills remained careful.
“Do you know that through prior testing?”
“No.”
“Then we verify independently.”
Richard looked furious.
Not at her.
At the fact that he had to.
Later that afternoon, a court-approved DNA sample was collected.
The result was expedited.
At 7:32 p.m., Detective Mills returned.
Richard stood immediately.
“Well?”
She looked at him.
“Leo is your biological son.”
Richard exhaled.
Anna nearly cried.
Then Mills continued.
“But Marcus’s file contains another DNA comparison.”
She placed a photograph on the table.
A man.
Mid-fifties.
Gray hair.
Anna recognized him.
Richard did too.
Emma’s father.
Thomas Bennett.
Except Thomas Bennett had supposedly died ten years ago.
Detective Mills looked at Richard.
May you like
“The sample Marcus was comparing wasn’t just Leo’s.”
“It was designed to establish whether Thomas Bennett is still alive.”
