Chapter 6
I didn't drive myself to the office.
Tasha insisted on taking me.
She said I was too upset to concentrate on the road.
She was right.
All I could think about was Grandma lying in her hospital bed.
Her hand in mine.
Her voice weak.
Her final words.
“Don't let anybody make you small, Nia.”
I had believed she was simply reminding me to be strong.
Now I wondered whether she was warning me.
At Whitfield Holdings, Jasmine was waiting with Mr. Brooks and a private investigator named Caleb Foster.
Caleb was a former financial-crimes detective.
He had a serious expression and a careful way of speaking.
When I sat down, he opened a folder.
“Nia, we need to be clear about something.”
I nodded.
“A suspicious payment does not prove wrongdoing in your grandmother's medical care.”
“I understand.”
“We're investigating the circumstances.”
I swallowed.
“Tell me what you found.”
He showed me an invoice.
The date was two days before Grandma's hospitalization.
The amount was seventy-five thousand dollars.
The payer was EB Consulting.
The recipient was a company called Meridian Private Health Services.
I stared at the page.
“What did they do?”
Caleb shook his head.
“That's what we're trying to establish.”
He continued.
“Meridian provides private nursing, medical transportation, and home-care coordination.”
I felt confused.
“Grandma already had medical care.”
“Yes.”
“Then why would Evelyn pay them?”
“We don't know.”
I closed my eyes.
I wanted answers.
But I also knew guessing could destroy innocent people.
Caleb leaned forward.
“We're requesting records through appropriate legal channels and identifying the people involved.”
I nodded.
Then Jasmine opened another document.
“This payment wasn't the only one.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
“There were three transfers to Meridian over six weeks.”
I stared at her.
“How much?”
“Just over two hundred thousand dollars.”
I covered my mouth.
That was an enormous amount of money.
Far more than routine home-care coordination should have required without explanation.
Caleb continued.
“We also found communication between Evelyn and the company's owner.”
“Who?”
“Dr. Samuel Reeves.”
The name sounded familiar.
I searched my memory.
Then I remembered.
Dr. Reeves had been introduced to me at a charity gala the previous year.
Evelyn called him a family friend.
He spoke warmly about his medical practice.
I hadn't thought much of him.
Now his name appeared in payments connected to Grandma's final illness.
I looked toward Caleb.
“Can you find out what happened?”
“We're working on it.”
I nodded.
But my heart was pounding.
After the meeting, I drove with Tasha to Grandma's house.
I hadn't visited since the funeral.
The little brick home looked exactly as it always had.
The white porch swing.
The flowerpots near the steps.
The curtains Grandma sewed herself.
I unlocked the door.
The smell of lavender still lingered inside.
For a moment, I couldn't move.
Tasha placed a hand on my shoulder.
“You okay?”
I shook my head.
“I miss her.”
She hugged me.
We walked into the living room.
Grandma's Bible rested on the side table.
Her favorite blanket was folded over the couch.
And a photograph of my parents stood beside the fireplace.
I picked it up.
My mother was smiling.
My father had his arm around her.
I remembered being sixteen when the police officer came to our door.
I remembered Grandma arriving before dawn and holding me while I cried.
She never let me feel abandoned.
Not once.
I placed the photograph back.
Then walked into her study.
Her desk was neat.
Pens arranged in a cup.
Files stacked carefully.
A small calendar opened to the month she died.
I sat in her chair.
And suddenly, I began crying.
I had inherited millions.
But I would have given every dollar to hear her voice again.
Tasha sat beside me.
For several minutes, she said nothing.
Then she pointed toward a drawer.
“Nia, what's that?”
I looked.
A small envelope had been tucked behind a folder.
My name was written on it.
I opened it carefully.
Inside was a short note.
“Nia,
If anything ever feels wrong, trust your instincts.
I keep copies of important things where I know you'll find them.
Remember our Sunday tradition.
Love,
Grandma.”
I stared at the words.
Our Sunday tradition.
Every Sunday afternoon, Grandma and I watched old movies while eating peach cobbler.
She always insisted I sit beside her.
Before the movie started, she asked one question.
“What's the one thing money can't buy?”
And I always answered.
“Peace.”
She would smile.
Then say, “Exactly.”
I looked at Tasha.
“I know what she means.”
Tasha frowned.
“What?”
“Her recipe box.”
Grandma kept family recipes in a blue metal tin in the kitchen.
Every Sunday, she pulled it out to find her peach cobbler recipe.
I hurried toward the kitchen.
Tasha followed.
The box sat on top of the refrigerator.
I took it down.
Inside were handwritten recipes.
Sweet potato pie.
Cornbread.
Peach cobbler.
I flipped through the cards.
Then stopped.
Behind the peach cobbler recipe was a folded paper.
My hands trembled.
I opened it.
It contained a list of dates.
Names.
And a handwritten warning.
“Evelyn met Reeves without my approval. Do not allow him access to my medical records.”
I felt cold.
Tasha leaned closer.
“Oh my God.”
There was another note.
“Reeves claims he can arrange specialized treatment. I declined.”
I stared at the handwriting.
Grandma had been concerned about Evelyn's involvement in her medical affairs.
But the notes didn't say anyone had harmed her.
I reminded myself of that.
Then I found a final line.
“Ask Nurse Daniels about the visit on Tuesday.”
I looked at Tasha.
“Nurse Daniels?”
She frowned.
“Do you know her?”
I nodded slowly.
Grandma had received occasional home nursing visits.
One of the nurses was named Patricia Daniels.
I remembered her kindness.
I also remembered that she stopped visiting shortly before Grandma went into the hospital.
At the time, I assumed her schedule changed.
Now I wondered why.
I called Caleb immediately.
He listened carefully.
Then asked me to preserve the note.
He arranged to meet us at the house and document where it was found.
Before hanging up, he said, “Nia, this could help us identify a witness.”
My heart pounded.
“Do you think Grandma was in danger?”
He answered cautiously.
“I think she was worried about something. We need to find out what.”
I nodded.
Then I sat beside the kitchen table.
Grandma's recipe box lay open.
I touched the peach cobbler card.
Tears filled my eyes.
She had hidden important information in the place she knew I would look.
Not because she expected me to solve a crime.
But because she trusted me to ask questions.
That evening, Caleb called.
He had located Patricia Daniels.
She had moved to Savannah.
He asked whether I wanted to participate in a meeting once arrangements were made.
I said yes.
Two days later, Patricia joined us by video call.
She looked nervous.
When she saw me, her eyes filled.
“Nia.”
I swallowed.
“Hello.”
She took a breath.
“Your grandmother was a wonderful woman.”
I nodded.
“She was.”
Patricia looked down.
Then whispered, “I've been carrying something since she died.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
She hesitated.
“Someone tried to pressure me to change her care notes.”
I felt cold.
“Who?”
Patricia closed her eyes.
Then answered.
“Dr. Reeves.”
I gripped the edge of the table.
“What did he want changed?”
Her voice trembled.
“He wanted me to remove references to your grandmother refusing a private treatment plan.”
I couldn't breathe.
“Why?”
Patricia looked toward Caleb.
Then back at me.
“Because someone wanted the records to show she had agreed.”
I stared at the screen.
“And who wanted that?”
Patricia swallowed.
“Evelyn Bennett.”
I felt tears gathering.
The woman who had destroyed my marriage had also been interfering in my grandmother's medical care.
But I still didn't know why.
Then Patricia said something that made the room go silent.
“Nia, your grandmother called me the night before she was hospitalized.”
My heart pounded.
“What did she say?”
Patricia began crying.
“She said someone was trying to frighten her into signing business documents.”
I closed my eyes.
“And?”
Patricia wiped her cheeks.
“She told me she was afraid of what might happen if she refused.”
I felt the floor disappear beneath me.
Grandma hadn't simply been worried about money.
She had been frightened.
And now I understood why she left so many warnings.
But the biggest question remained.
May you like
Who had been threatening her?
And how far had Evelyn been willing to go to keep her secrets hidden?
