Chapter 4
Claire was alive.
Detective Alvarez told me the next morning.
Alive.
In a long-term care facility outside Rockford.
Admitted under her maiden name.
Legal guardian listed as Diane Bennett.
Ryan had been paying the bills.
My hands went numb.
“What happened to her?”
“Brain injury,” the detective said. “Reported as a fall at the family lake house five years ago.”
Five years ago.
The year Ryan told me she died.
The year he moved to Chicago.
The year he met me.
“Can she speak?”
“Limited, according to records.”
I stared at Lily sleeping in the bed.
“What does Claire’s medication have to do with my daughter?”
The detective’s face was grim.
“That is what we need to know.”
My attorney arrived an hour later.
Nora Singh.
Small.
Precise.
Ruthless in the best way.
She listened, then said, “We file for emergency custody today. No Ryan. No Diane. No family contact. We also challenge every document connected to Claire.”
“Why Claire?”
“Because if Diane controls one woman through medical guardianship, I want to know whether she tried to control you the same way.”
I thought of Ryan calling me emotional.
Diane saying motherhood overwhelmed me.
The pediatrician she insisted we use.
Dr. Price.
The one who told me Lily’s sleepiness was normal.
My stomach turned.
Nora saw my face.
“What?”
“Diane chose Lily’s doctor.”
“Name?”
“Alan Price.”
Detective Alvarez looked up.
“That is Claire’s prescribing doctor.”
The room went silent.
A line connected in my head.
Diane.
Ryan.
May you like
Claire.
Dr. Price.
