Chapter 5 - Caroline's Password
Ethan did not accuse Sarah.
That surprised her.
Instead, he asked the nurse to preserve the call record and told hospital security to lock down Leo's chart.
In the hallway, Sarah said, "You should ask me."
"Ask you what?"
"If I gave her the password."
"Did you?"
"No."
"Then we're done with that question."
He sat beside Leo's hospital crib.
"How did you know Caroline's password?"
Sarah hesitated.
"Mrs. Mercer gave it to me."
"When?"
"The week before she died."
Ethan looked up.
Sarah swallowed.
"She was worried someone was calling the pediatric office pretending to be family."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I tried."
His face tightened.
Sarah continued. "Mr. Collins said you were in Europe and that he would handle it."
Ethan leaned back.
Another door Collins had closed.
"What exactly did Caroline say?"
"She said, 'If anything happens to me, don't let anyone change Leo's doctors without Ethan knowing.'"
Ethan stared at the floor.
He had spent eighteen months believing Caroline's death was a cruel medical complication.
Now every old detail was turning sharp.
His attorney, Nathan Price, arrived with copies of the trust.
"The missing guardianship papers matter," Nathan said. "But they cannot change the trust by themselves."
"What can?"
"A court order. Medical evidence against you. Evidence of neglect. Or evidence that Leo is unsafe in your care."
Sarah looked at Leo.
The iron.
The coughing.
The disabled camera.
"What if someone creates that evidence?"
Nathan's expression darkened.
"Then they could petition for emergency guardianship."
Ethan's phone rang.
This time Collins's name appeared.
Ethan answered on speaker.
"Where are you?"
Collins sounded calm.
"Trying to protect you."
"From what?"
"From Sarah."
Sarah stiffened.
Collins continued. "She has been recording your family for months."
"Proof?"
"I found devices."
Ethan looked at Sarah.
She shook her head.
Collins said, "Check the maid's room."
They returned to the mansion with police present.
In Sarah's closet, officers found three tiny cameras.
A bottle of prescription sedatives.
And photocopies of Leo's trust.
Sarah stared at the evidence.
"I've never seen any of this."
Victoria appeared behind an officer.
Her eyes were red from crying.
But Sarah saw the smile she was trying to hide.
May you like
Then one of the officers held up the sedative bottle.
The prescription label had Sarah's full name on it.
