Chapter 10 - THE DOCTOR WHO BURIED THE TRUTH
Dr. Caroline Vale had held my hand at my mother's funeral.
She'd told me Margaret was brave.
She'd told me there was nothing anyone could have done.
And she'd promised that someday people would understand the truth about the hospital scandal.
Now I was staring at a photograph of her meeting the two men connected to my mother's destruction.
I felt something cold settle inside my chest.
"Where did you get this?" I asked Sophie.
"Everett's office."
Vincent looked toward her.
"You entered his office?"
She nodded.
"I was trying to find out why Nathan kept asking about my birth records."
The investigator examined the photograph.
It had been taken several months before Margaret's death.
Caroline stood beside Nathan's car.
A large envelope was visible in her hand.
I stared.
"She knew."
Vincent remained silent.
I looked at him.
"She knew what they did to my mother."
"We need to establish what the meeting involved."
I hated how reasonable he sounded.
But I knew he was right.
Suspicion wasn't proof.
And I wanted more than revenge.
I wanted the truth.
The investigators contacted Caroline.
She agreed to an interview.
At first, she denied everything.
Then they showed her the photograph.
Her expression changed.
Finally, after consulting an attorney, she made a statement.
Nathan had approached her years earlier.
He claimed Margaret was mentally unstable.
He offered money to support an altered account of the medication scandal.
Caroline accepted.
She later helped conceal evidence that could have cleared Margaret's name.
I sat behind the observation window, listening.
My hands shook.
My mother had lost her career.
Her reputation.
Her savings.
And Caroline had accepted money to help destroy her.
Then the investigator asked about Margaret's death.
Caroline began crying.
I stopped breathing.
"What happened?" the investigator asked.
Caroline covered her face.
"Margaret found out."
"Found out what?"
"That Nathan had been using her identity for years."
My heart pounded.
"Did you harm Margaret?"
Caroline shook her head.
"No."
"Then why did you conceal information?"
She swallowed.
"Because she threatened to expose everything."
The investigator leaned forward.
"What did Nathan do?"
Caroline began sobbing.
"He ordered Everett to retrieve the evidence from her apartment."
I gripped the edge of the chair.
"And?"
Caroline looked toward the camera.
Her voice dropped.
"Margaret wasn't supposed to die that night."
The room spun.
I stood.
Vincent caught my elbow.
"Lena."
I pulled away.
"What does she mean?"
Inside the interview room, Caroline continued.
"Everett went to confront her. They argued. She fell."
My knees weakened.
Caroline began crying harder.
"By the time I arrived, she was unconscious."
The investigator's voice remained steady.
"Did you call an ambulance?"
Caroline looked down.
"No."
My world collapsed.
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Because my mother hadn't died from the illness I'd been told had taken her.
She'd died after someone chose to protect a secret instead of saving her life.
