Chapter 5 - THE SIGNATURE OF A DEAD WOMAN
“Where did you find this?”
Adrian held the medication record beneath his desk lamp.
Mrs. Pike stood opposite him.
“In the old household binder. It was filed among the clinic's instructions.”
Adrian read the date again.
Eleven days after Tess Ashby's funeral.
The signature was unmistakable.
So was the impossibility.
“Who brought this into the house?”
“Miss Ward handled the clinic correspondence.”
Adrian leaned back.
For eight months, Celia had managed the medical appointments because he could barely bear watching Iris suffer.
He had called that trust.
Now he wondered whether it had also been cowardice.
“Bring Maren here,” he said.
Mrs. Pike hesitated.
“I thought you'd restricted her access.”
“To my daughter's room. Not to the truth.”
Maren arrived wearing her coat.
She had already packed a small bag.
“I was going to leave tomorrow,” she said.
Adrian placed the record in front of her.
Her eyes moved across the page.
Then stopped.
“This isn't Tess's signature.”
“Are you certain?”
“She always made the cross on her T too long.”
Maren reached beneath her collar and pulled out a small folded note.
It was the last birthday card her sister had written.
She placed the two signatures side by side.
They were similar.
Not identical.
“Tess was left-handed,” Maren added. “When she signed quickly, the bottom of her A leaned backward.”
Adrian examined both.
The forged record had a different slant.
“Someone copied her name.”
Maren's voice broke.
“They didn't even let her rest after she died.”
Adrian looked at her.
“I'm sorry.”
“For what?”
“For speaking to you the way I did.”
Maren folded the birthday card.
“Then don't do it again.”
He nodded.
She appreciated that he didn't try to buy forgiveness.
An hour later, Adrian summoned Rafe Quinn, his longtime security chief.
Rafe was the man in the gray suit who had stood behind Adrian during the gala.
He had served the Castellane family for twelve years.
Adrian laid the record on the desk.
“Find out who entered this document into our system.”
Rafe studied it.
“I can review the security logs.”
“Do more than review them.”
Rafe looked toward Maren.
“Sir, perhaps it would be better if this stayed within the family.”
Maren stiffened.
“My sister's name is on that paper.”
“I understand.”
“No,” she said. “I don't think you do.”
Rafe looked away.
That reaction stayed with Adrian.
Later, the independent specialist arrived.
Dr. Evelyn Shah was a pediatric rehabilitation physician from a hospital unaffiliated with Celia's clinic.
She reviewed Iris's condition, medication history, and therapy reports.
Her findings were careful.
The original spinal injury was genuine.
Iris still had significant weakness in her right leg.
No responsible doctor could promise that she would walk independently.
But Dr. Shah questioned the prolonged evening medication regimen and the reduction in active rehabilitation.
“Her treatment should be guided by her current symptoms and her goals,” she explained. “Not by assumptions that nothing can improve.”
Adrian stared at the floor.
“Could the additional medication explain why she always seemed exhausted?”
“It may have contributed. We'll review it safely, without abrupt changes.”
“And the laughter?”
Dr. Shah glanced toward Iris's drawings on the table.
“Mr. Castellane, a child can be physically disabled and still have a full, joyful life.”
He looked up.
“Someone should have reminded me of that sooner.”
Meanwhile, Maren sat with Mrs. Pike in the kitchen.
The housekeeper placed a small yellow ribbon between them.
“Tess gave me this before she left the clinic,” she said.
Maren touched it.
“She made one for Iris.”
“I know.”
Mrs. Pike lowered her voice.
“Your sister came here once, asking to see Mr. Castellane. Miss Ward told me she was unstable and shouldn't be allowed inside.”
“Why didn't you tell him?”
“I was afraid of losing my job.”
Maren looked away.
Mrs. Pike began crying.
“I made the wrong choice.”
Before Maren could answer, Adrian entered.
He was holding something wrapped in a handkerchief.
A silver pocket watch.
Its glass was cracked.
The hands had stopped at 9:14.
“Iris kept this after the accident,” Adrian said. “It fell from my pocket when I lifted her from the floor.”
Maren remembered the official report.
The accident had supposedly occurred at 10:02.
Adrian opened the watch.
May you like
Then looked at Rafe, who had followed him into the room.
“Why does my watch say my daughter was hurt forty-eight minutes earlier than you reported?”
