Chapter 8
Dad’s video lasted eleven minutes.
I remember every second.
He said Dr. Price had changed his medication without explaining why.
He became suspicious when symptoms worsened.
Then he secretly visited another doctor.
That doctor found dangerous levels of medication in his blood.
Dad stopped taking every pill Dr. Price prescribed.
The symptoms continued.
That was when he realized someone was putting the medicine into his food or drinks.
“I began watching Valerie.”
Dad looked exhausted on the screen.
“I saw her crush tablets into my tea.”
Claire held my hand.
I couldn’t look away.
“I confronted her indirectly.”
Dad continued.
“She denied everything.”
Then he said something worse.
“Dr. Price called me that same evening and warned me not to make accusations I could not prove.”
My stomach twisted.
Dad had told Uncle Mason.
He had recorded conversations.
He had copied bank records.
He planned to take everything to police.
Then he looked directly into the camera.
“If something happens to me, Valerie is responsible.”
My breath caught.
“But there is someone else Emery must know about.”
The video glitched.
For one terrifying second, the image froze.
Then Dad continued.
“My attorney, Nathan Bell.”
Claire frowned.
I remembered him.
Nathan handled Dad’s will.
He came to the funeral.
He told me Valerie was now my legal guardian.
Dad’s face hardened.
“Nathan helped Valerie alter custody documents years ago.”
Claire whispered, “No.”
“He also helped hide withdrawals from Emery’s trust.”
My stomach dropped.
“And I believe he gave Valerie information about every attempt Claire made to contact me.”
Claire covered her mouth.
Dad continued.
“If I die, do not trust Nathan Bell.”
The video ended.
Everyone was silent.
Then Deputy Morales stood.
“We need to find him.”
Nathan Bell’s office was closed.
His home was empty.
His phone went straight to voicemail.
Another missing adult.
I felt like my father’s death had pulled a curtain away from an entire world of lies.
By sunrise, state police had issued warrants.
Nathan was found before noon.
He had not fled.
He was at a private airfield waiting for a charter plane.
He was arrested.
Unlike Valerie, he talked.
Fast.
He admitted helping hide the trust theft.
He admitted falsifying legal correspondence.
He admitted forwarding Claire’s letters to Valerie instead of Dad.
He claimed Valerie threatened him.
Morales told us that part later.
“Do you believe him?” I asked.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because bank records show she paid him.”
“How much?”
“Almost three hundred thousand dollars over nine years.”
I shook my head.
Everyone had a price.
Nathan also gave police something critical.
Text messages from Valerie.
One sent the night Dad died.
PRICE SAYS TONIGHT IS ENOUGH.
Another:
THOMAS KNOWS TOO MUCH.
Then:
MAKE SURE THE CHILD STAYS WITH ME.
Claire started crying.
I didn’t.
I felt too cold.
“Did Valerie kill him that night?”
Morales answered more directly now.
“We believe she administered a dangerous amount of medication.”
“And Dr. Price?”
“We believe he supplied it and altered records afterward.”
“Then arrest them.”
“We have Nathan.”
“That’s not enough.”
“No.”
For the first time, Morales sounded angry too.
“We’re going to find them.”
The next break came from someone I never expected.
Valerie’s sister, Denise.
I had met her twice.
She lived in Arizona.
She called police after seeing Valerie’s face on the news.
Valerie had contacted her.
“She asked for money,” Morales told us.
“Did Denise send it?”
“No.”
“Did Valerie say where she was?”
“Not directly.”
But Valerie mentioned being cold.
She complained about “that terrible lake Dad used to drag us to.”
Denise knew the place.
A cabin near Blue Mesa Reservoir.
Owned under their late father’s name.
Police surrounded it before dawn.
I waited at Hank’s ranch with Claire.
Nobody let me watch live feeds.
I hated that.
Two hours passed.
Then Morales called.
“We have Dr. Price.”
Claire grabbed the phone.
“And Valerie?”
“Not yet.”
My stomach dropped.
“She was there?”
“Yes.”
“Where did she go?”
“She escaped through a trail behind the cabin before teams arrived.”
Again.
Always running.
Dr. Price confessed after learning Nathan had already talked.
He said Valerie approached him more than a year before Dad died.
She discovered Price had gambling debts.
She offered money.
At first, he only changed medical notes.
Then he prescribed medication Dad didn’t need.
Finally, Valerie demanded enough pills to “make an accident believable.”
Price gave them to her.
He claimed he never administered anything himself.
I asked Morales the question that mattered.
“Did he know she was going to kill Dad?”
“Yes.”
My chest tightened.
“Then why didn’t he stop her?”
“He wanted the money.”
That answer seemed too small.
Dad was dead because adults wanted money.
Claire lost nine years because Valerie wanted Dad.
I stood alone on a highway because Valerie wanted control.
Everything terrible in my life seemed to come from people wanting something more than they cared about who got hurt.
That night, I asked Claire:
“Do grown-ups always become bad because of money?”
“No.”
“How do you know?”
“Because Hank stopped for you.”
I looked toward the porch.
Motorcycles lined the driveway.
“He didn’t get anything.”
“No.”
“Morales too.”
“No.”
“You?”
Claire smiled sadly.
“I got you.”
“That’s different.”
“Yes.”
I thought about Dad.
“He tried to fix it.”
“He did.”
For the first time, I could remember him without thinking only about his death.
Then my phone buzzed.
Everyone had told me not to answer unknown numbers.
I didn’t.
But a voicemail appeared.
Valerie’s voice.
“Emery.”
My stomach clenched.
Claire reached for the phone.
I shook my head and played it.
“You think Claire loves you.”
Valerie sounded calm.
The same voice she used the night she abandoned me.
“She doesn’t.”
Claire closed her eyes.
“She loves winning.”
I almost laughed.
Because the trick sounded weak now.
“You’ll learn.”
Valerie continued.
“Everyone leaves eventually.”
My hand tightened.
Then she said:
“Your father did.”
That hurt.
She knew it would.
“But I didn’t.”
The voicemail ended.
Claire looked at me carefully.
“Are you okay?”
“No.”
I thought about it.
“But she’s wrong.”
Claire’s eyes filled.
“Yes.”
I looked at her.
“Dad didn’t leave me.”
“No.”
“He died trying to get me back to you.”
“Yes.”
“And you came.”
“I did.”
“Hank stopped.”
“Yes.”
“Morales stayed.”
Claire smiled through tears.
“Yes.”
I deleted the voicemail.
Valerie’s voice disappeared.
May you like
For the first time, I realized she was losing something more important than her freedom.
She was losing the ability to tell me who I was.
