Chapter 9 - THE WOMAN IN THE RECORDING|
The hospital recording was grainy, silent, and incomplete.
But it showed enough.
At 10:58 p.m., Margaret entered my mother's room.
At 11:21, she left carrying a document envelope.
At 11:42, my mother was taken for additional testing.
And at 12:06, Margaret returned to the corridor alone.
She stood outside the room for nearly four minutes.
Then she took out her phone.
The hospital had no audio from that camera, but Daniel found a second recording from the reception desk. The sound was poor, yet one sentence was clear.
"She won't tell Naomi. Not after what happened to Gerald."
I felt the room tilt.
Daniel paused the recording.
"Do you want to continue?"
"Yes."
The next section showed Margaret speaking to a man near the elevators. His face was partially hidden by the camera angle, but the shape of his shoulders and the way he held his left hand looked familiar.
Daniel enlarged the image.
"Can you identify him?"
I stared.
Then I recognized the watch.
It belonged to Preston Cole.
The same attorney now representing Ethan.
"Why was he at the hospital?"
Daniel made a call.
Within an hour, we had confirmation that Cole had represented the estate's former accountant in a dispute over missing funds. He had also advised Margaret on a private property transaction years before.
The connections were no longer coincidences.
That evening, I returned to the mansion.
Margaret was waiting in the foyer.
"Where have you been?"
"Working."
"You've been making calls about your mother."
I stopped.
"How did you know?"
She stepped closer.
"Because people are asking questions. You're upsetting everyone."
"Did you visit my mother the night before she died?"
Her expression changed.
"Of course I did. I was family."
"Did you take an envelope from her room?"
"She asked me to bring some papers home."
"Which papers?"
"I don't remember."
"Did you speak to Preston Cole?"
Margaret's eyes sharpened.
"Why are you asking me these things?"
"Because I found the recording."
For the first time, she looked genuinely afraid.
Then she recovered.
"You're grieving again, Naomi. You're letting old memories confuse you."
"My mother was not confused."
Margaret lowered her voice.
"Your mother was sick. She was frightened. She said things that didn't make sense."
"She said you were taking money."
Margaret slapped me.
The sound cracked through the foyer.
For a moment, neither of us moved.
Then the housekeeper appeared at the end of the hall.
"Mrs. Ellery?"
Margaret stepped backward.
"She provoked me."
I touched my cheek.
"No, Margaret. You did that yourself."
I turned to the housekeeper.
"Please ask Daniel to come inside."
Margaret's voice rose.
"You cannot threaten me in this house."
I looked at her.
"Why not? You seem comfortable threatening everyone else."
She leaned closer.
"You have no idea what you're doing. If you keep digging, you'll discover that your mother wasn't the innocent woman you remember."
I held her gaze.
"Then show me."
She said nothing.
I walked upstairs.
Behind me, I heard her make a phone call.
May you like
Her voice was low, but one sentence carried clearly through the foyer.
"He's going to have to move faster. Naomi knows about the recording."
