Chapter 10 - THE TRUTH ABOUT MY MOTHER'S DEATH
My mother had died four years ago.
The official cause was a sudden heart condition.
She collapsed in our apartment.
By the time the ambulance arrived, she was gone.
I'd spent years blaming myself for not being home.
Now Margaret Sinclair was suggesting something else had happened.
I stared at Dominic.
“She knows something.”
He nodded.
“But we need evidence.”
The attorney obtained copies of my mother's medical records through the estate's authorized representative.
An independent physician reviewed them.
Several entries were inconsistent.
A medication had been prescribed shortly before her death.
But there was no clear record explaining why.
The prescribing doctor had worked at Hawthorne Wellness Institute.
I felt sick.
“Mom never told me she was being treated there.”
Dominic looked grim.
“Maybe she didn't know the doctor was connected.”
Marcus reviewed archived phone records provided through the investigation.
My mother had received repeated calls from a number associated with Margaret Sinclair.
The final call came two hours before her death.
I covered my mouth.
“They spoke that day?”
“Yes.”
I sat down.
Memories rushed back.
Mom had seemed frightened that morning.
She'd asked me to stay home.
I'd told her I couldn't.
I had a job interview.
She'd smiled and said she understood.
Then she'd hugged me longer than usual.
I began crying.
Dominic sat beside me.
“Rachel…”
I shook my head.
“I should have stayed.”
His voice softened.
“You couldn't have known.”
I wiped my eyes.
“But maybe she did.”
I remembered something else.
A small envelope Mom had pressed into my hand two days before she died.
She'd told me to keep it somewhere safe.
I'd put it inside an old recipe book.
Then forgotten about it.
My heart began racing.
“Dominic.”
He looked up.
“What?”
“I think Mom left me something.”
We drove to my apartment.
I found the recipe book on a kitchen shelf.
Inside was the envelope.
Still sealed.
My name written across the front.
I opened it with trembling fingers.
Inside was a letter.
Rachel, my sweet girl,
If anything happens to me, I need you to know I never regretted choosing you.
Tears filled my eyes.
I wanted to tell you about your brother and sister. But I was afraid the people who separated us would hurt you.
I swallowed.
I've been working with Isabella Vale to expose what happened.
My heart tightened.
Then I reached the final paragraph.
Margaret Sinclair knows the truth. She has been watching us for years.
I looked toward Dominic.
He was reading over my shoulder.
Then I saw the final sentence.
May you like
And everything inside me went cold.
“Rachel, if I die suddenly, do not believe it was natural.”
