Chapter 9 - The Hospital Record
They did not accuse Vivian of causing Elena’s death.
Suspicion was not evidence.
Adrian refused to let grief turn into reckless conclusions.
Instead, Nathan requested Elena’s archived hospital records.
The files arrived the next afternoon.
Dr. Priya Shah, the cardiologist who had treated Elena, agreed to speak with them.
She remembered the case.
Elena had undergone a minor procedure.
Complications developed unexpectedly afterward.
Her blood pressure dropped.
Her heart rhythm became unstable.
Within hours, she was gone.
Dr. Shah was careful.
“There was never evidence of intentional harm.”
Adrian nodded.
“I understand.”
“But?”
Grace asked.
Dr. Shah hesitated.
“There was one unusual detail.”
Adrian leaned forward.
“Elena had a medication in her system that was not listed in the chart.”
“What medication?”
“A sedative.”
“Could it have killed her?”
“Not by itself.”
“Could it have contributed?”
“Yes.”
Adrian’s hands tightened.
Dr. Shah continued.
“We assumed she had taken an older prescription at home and forgotten to mention it.”
“Did she have that prescription?”
“We never found one.”
Grace asked, “Who was with her before the procedure?”
Dr. Shah checked the record.
“Her husband.”
Adrian remembered sitting beside Elena until a business emergency forced him to leave for forty minutes.
He had hated himself for leaving ever since.
Dr. Shah continued.
“And her sister.”
The room became silent.
Vivian.
Adrian stared down.
“Could someone have given Elena the sedative without her knowing?”
Dr. Shah chose her words carefully.
“It is possible.”
“Could you prove it now?”
“Probably not.”
Adrian nodded.
He had expected that answer.
When the meeting ended, Grace found him standing beside the parking garage.
“You okay?”
“No.”
She stood beside him.
Adrian looked into the distance.
“I left for forty minutes.”
“Adrian.”
“If I had stayed.”
“Don’t do that.”
He laughed bitterly.
“You’re telling me not to blame myself?”
“Yes.”
“After everything I did to you?”
“Yes.”
Grace looked at him.
“Because blaming yourself without evidence is exactly how Vivian keeps winning.”
Adrian turned.
Grace continued.
“She makes everyone carry guilt that belongs to her.”
Those words stayed with him.
Back at the estate, Marcus had another discovery.
A former nurse from Elena’s hospital had contacted him.
Her name was Claire Benton.
She had seen the public news about the pool incident.
Claire remembered Vivian.
“She asked strange questions.”
Adrian put the call on speaker.
“What kind of questions?”
Claire answered carefully.
“She wanted to know whether certain medications would appear in toxicology reports.”
Grace’s face went still.
Claire continued.
“I thought she was worried about Elena’s prescriptions.”
“When was this?”
“The night Elena died.”
Adrian gripped the desk.
“Before or after?”
A pause.
“Before.”
Adrian’s voice dropped.
“Before Elena died?”
“Yes.”
Claire explained that Vivian had approached the nursing station while Elena was still conscious.
She asked whether medications taken before admission would show in laboratory testing.
Claire had answered generally.
At the time it seemed harmless.
After Elena’s death, Claire mentioned it to a supervisor.
Nothing came of it.
Marcus ended the call.
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Then he placed one more item on the desk.
A pharmacy receipt.
Recovered from an old digital credit-card archive.
Vivian had purchased a prescription sedative three days before Elena died.
The prescription was not written for Vivian.
It belonged to their mother, Margaret Vale.
Adrian looked at Grace.
Grace whispered, “Now we know where it came from.”
Adrian shook his head.
“No.”
His expression became colder.
“We know where it might have come from.”
May you like
He was finished assuming.
This time, he wanted proof.
