Chapter 13 - A Lie Made Public
By nine the next morning, the estate was buzzing.
Two investigators had arrived to interview employees regarding the medical records.
The rumors moved faster than the truth.
Tessa had been questioned.
Tessa had been stealing.
Tessa had manipulated Beatrice.
Tessa had convinced Damian to fire the nurses.
None of it was true.
But people repeated the allegations with increasing confidence.
Rebecca stood in the employee hallway waiting for an interview.
Her hands shook.
She'd slept less than an hour.
The statement Salvatore's intermediary had dictated was folded inside her pocket.
It accused Tessa of accessing confidential documents, offering Rebecca money, and attempting to conceal medication records.
Rebecca knew what the statement would do.
Tessa would lose her job.
Possibly face investigation.
And Salvatore's people would have someone else to blame for their misconduct.
When Rebecca entered the interview room, she found Elena Brooks speaking with a police investigator who was handling the alleged theft of records.
The investigator introduced himself.
"Ms. Lane, we'd like to ask you about access to the medical office."
Rebecca sat.
Her mouth went dry.
"Okay."
"Did you enter that office yesterday?"
Rebecca hesitated.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I was cleaning."
"Was it part of your assigned duties?"
"Sometimes."
"Did you photograph any documents?"
Rebecca stared at the folded paper in her pocket.
This was the moment.
She could lie.
She could destroy Tessa.
And perhaps the men threatening her son would leave them alone.
Then she remembered Tessa's face in the laundry room.
My sister died after three years of treatment.
Rebecca began crying.
"I did."
The investigator paused.
"You photographed confidential documents?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Rebecca pulled the folded statement from her pocket.
Her hands trembled as she placed it on the table.
"Because somebody paid me."
Elena looked up.
Rebecca covered her face.
"And now they want me to blame another woman."
The interview lasted nearly two hours.
By the end, investigators had the threatening messages Rebecca had saved, details about the money transfer, and the name of the intermediary.
Rebecca wasn't promised immunity.
She faced possible criminal consequences and dismissal.
But she told the truth.
When Paul informed Damian, he was surprised by the response.
"Make sure her son is somewhere safe," Damian said.
Paul frowned.
"Rebecca betrayed us."
"Yes."
"And you're concerned about her family?"
"I'm concerned about an innocent child whose mother made a desperate decision."
Paul watched him.
"The old Damian wouldn't have said that."
"The old Damian caused plenty of desperate decisions."
Paul nodded slowly.
Damian wasn't trying to excuse Rebecca.
He was starting to recognize the system that had made her useful to Salvatore.
A system he himself had helped create.
By afternoon, Rebecca's cooperation had given investigators a direct link between the stolen medical report and an employee of a company controlled by Salvatore.
It didn't prove Salvatore had personally ordered the theft.
But it provided another documented reason to examine his organization.
Tessa learned what had happened that evening.
She listened without interrupting.
When Damian finished, she asked, "Rebecca has a son?"
"Yes."
"How old?"
"Nine."
Tessa looked down.
"I don't forgive her."
"I didn't ask you to."
"But I don't want her child hurt."
"Neither do I."
She nodded.
Then she looked at him.
"You're changing."
Damian didn't answer.
Tessa continued.
"I don't know whether I trust it yet."
"Neither do I."
She gave him a surprised look.
He smiled faintly.
"I'm not particularly skilled at this."
"At what?"
"Being someone worth trusting."
Tessa studied him.
"Then don't make promises. Make choices."
He nodded.
"That seems fair."
For a moment, something warm passed between them.
Then the door opened.
Dr. Whitmore entered.
His expression was serious.
"I've received the latest results of Beatrice's medication review."
Damian stood.
"Tell me."
"The good news is that some of her recent confusion may have been worsened by inappropriate treatment rather than disease progression alone."
Tessa held her breath.
"And the bad news?"
Whitmore looked between them.
"Even after correcting those problems, her Alzheimer's remains advanced. We may see periods of improved alertness, but we shouldn't expect sustained recovery."
Damian slowly sat.
He had been hoping.
Against medical advice.
Against reason.
Against everything he knew.
He had been hoping the woman who raised him might return.
Whitmore continued gently.
"We can improve her comfort and reduce avoidable harm. That's meaningful. But there isn't a cure hidden inside these records."
Damian nodded.
For the first time in days, he looked completely defeated.
Tessa didn't reach for him.
She simply remained beside him.
After Whitmore left, Damian whispered, "I thought if I solved this, I'd get her back."
Tessa stared at the floor.
"I know."
He covered his face.
She sat with him until he could speak again.
But their grief was interrupted by another discovery.
Elena called Tessa shortly before eight.
The state records office had located the original document supporting the amendment to her birth certificate.
There was no evidence that Anthony Costa was her father.
Instead, the earliest available record named an unmarried woman who had given birth at Saint Agnes in September 1999.
Her name was Julia Bennett.
And next to the mother's name was a notation:
Infant temporarily placed under protective custody pending investigation.
Tessa stared at the paper.
Her mother had not given birth to her.
May you like
Somebody else had.
And Margaret had spent eighteen years keeping that truth to herself.
