Chapter 17 - THE TRUTH ABOUT THE LAST PRESCRIPTION
Vivian's account was not the simple confession I had feared or expected.
She admitted accessing Dad's medical portal at Ethan's request using credentials she should not have used.
She also admitted recording a medication instruction without proper authorization.
But she denied knowingly giving George anything harmful.
According to her, Ethan had insisted that a clinician had already approved the change.
Investigators tested that claim against the records.
No such approval could be confirmed.
Vivian said she later became frightened and tried to reverse the entry.
That explained the change and reversal shown on the pharmacy printout.
It did not explain who had obtained and administered the medication Dad actually took.
The medical examiner's review concluded that the evidence supported serious concern about interference with care, but an exact causal link to the death could not yet be established with certainty.
Mercer told me prosecutors were considering charges supported by the strongest available evidence, including fraud, forgery, identity-related offenses, and unlawful access to medical information.
He refused to predict whether any homicide charge would be justified.
I hated the lack of certainty.
I also refused to turn my father's death into a story more definite than the evidence allowed.
Martin opened the sealed packet after the identified portal user had been confirmed.
Inside was a letter addressed to me and a small USB drive.
Dad's letter said he had documented his suspicions in stages because he knew I would initially struggle to believe them.
He did not demand revenge.
He asked me to protect the people whose wages and hopes had become entangled in the theft.
The USB drive held a video recorded in his office three weeks before he died.
Dad looked tired, his gray hair uncombed, his work shirt stained with oil.
He spoke directly into the camera.
"Lydia, if you're seeing this, I didn't get to finish the conversation."
I covered my mouth.
"You don't owe anyone your inheritance, and you don't owe anyone your silence."
He paused to steady his breathing.
"Most of all, don't mistake their anger for your guilt."
Then he lifted a document into view.
May you like
"There's one more thing Martin knows where to find."
