Chapter 7 - THE RECORDING MY MOTHER LEFT BEHIND
Clare had never felt more frightened walking into a hospital.
She remembered the last time she'd entered St. Catherine's.
The smell of disinfectant.
The fluorescent lights.
The endless hours beside her mother's bed.
Now she returned carrying a small handbag and a phone connected to an emergency safety contact.
Nathaniel knew about the meeting.
She'd told him everything.
But she had made one thing clear.
“I need to do this myself.”
He hadn't argued.
“I'll respect that.”
Those words had mattered.
Dr. Elaine Porter waited in a private consultation room.
She looked exhausted.
Gray hair escaped from a loose bun.
Her hands trembled around a paper cup.
“Clare?”
“Yes.”
The doctor stood.
“I'm sorry about your mother.”
Clare swallowed.
“Thank you.”
Dr. Porter placed a sealed envelope on the table.
“Margaret asked me to give you this if anything happened to her.”
Clare stared.
“Why didn't you contact me sooner?”
The doctor looked ashamed.
“I was afraid.”
“Of Douglas Ashcroft?”
“Yes.”
Clare sat down.
She opened the envelope.
Inside was a flash drive and a handwritten note.
Her mother's handwriting.
My darling Clare,
You always believed the truth mattered, even when people told you to stop asking questions.
Tears blurred the words.
Please don't let what happened to me silence you.
Clare pressed a hand against her mouth.
Then she connected the drive to the secure computer provided by the investigator.
The recording began.
Douglas Ashcroft sat at the head of a conference table.
Beside him stood Victoria Bowmont.
A third person remained partly outside the camera's view.
Douglas spoke first.
“Meridian cannot be exposed.”
Victoria crossed her arms.
“Then we need someone outside the company to absorb the liability.”
Douglas nodded.
“Someone credible.”
The third person spoke.
“What about the Whitmore girl?”
Clare stopped breathing.
Victoria smiled.
“She asks too many questions.”
Douglas leaned forward.
“Then let her ask them. We can make her appear responsible for the entire scheme.”
Clare's hands began shaking.
The recording continued.
Victoria asked, “What about her mother?”
Douglas's expression remained cold.
“She needs to stop interfering.”
The video ended.
Clare stared at the black screen.
For several seconds, she couldn't move.
Then Dr. Porter whispered:
“There's another file.”
Clare looked up.
“What?”
“A list of people who participated in the cover-up.”
She opened it.
Douglas Ashcroft.
Victoria Bowmont.
Harrison Bowmont.
Several executives.
And one final name.
Nathaniel Ashcroft.
Clare stopped breathing.
Beside his name were three words.
“Primary authorization holder.”
She looked at the doctor.
“Was Nathaniel involved?”
Dr. Porter hesitated.
Then whispered:
“Someone used his credentials to approve the program.”
Clare's phone vibrated.
A message from Nathaniel.
“Clare, I found something. My father has arranged an emergency board meeting.”
Another message followed.
“Victoria says you're going to be arrested.”
May you like
And then the final text arrived.
“Please don't go home. Someone is already inside your apartment.”
