Chapter 10 - THE DEATH CERTIFICATE
The envelope contained a photocopied clinical note bearing Saint Anne's Hospital letterhead.
It stated that Thomas had been sedated before a procedure I did not remember authorizing.
At the bottom was a signature resembling mine.
My stomach knotted.
I remembered signing hospital forms, but I remembered no such procedure.
Michael told me not to assume that the document was authentic.
We requested the relevant records directly from the hospital using the proper channels.
While the request was pending, I replayed that final night again and again.
Thomas had been lucid that afternoon.
He squeezed my hand and told me to water the roses.
Then he deteriorated so quickly that the nurses asked me to step outside.
I had trusted the staff.
I had trusted the explanations.
Now Greg wanted me to believe I had signed away something essential.
David worried I was no longer sleeping.
He came over and made soup.
"Dad died, Mom. The rest is paperwork unless we get proof."
He meant to comfort me, but I knew papers could decide how truth was remembered.
Three days later the hospital's records office sent its response.
The copied note Greg had supplied did not match its retained chart.
The signature belonged to a consent form from an entirely different admission.
Someone had assembled a false page using authentic fragments.
Michael forwarded the discrepancy to Detective Ruiz.
The investigator confirmed he would assess whether the fake formed part of a broader attempt to intimidate me.
I expected relief.
Instead I received a message from Elise Mercer.
I HAVE THE REAL PAGE.
THOMAS DIDN'T DIE BECAUSE OF A PROCEDURE.
May you like
HE DIED AFTER HE DECIDED TO TELL YOU EVERYTHING.
