Chapter 5 - Stop Looking Into May 14
"No?" Nicholas repeated.
Claire recovered immediately.
"I mean not with another random specialist. You've been through enough false hope."
"A moving toe is not false hope," Hannah said.
Claire ignored her.
"Nicky, remember what Dr. Merritt said. Stress makes your spasms worse."
Nicholas's voice went cold.
"Don't call me Nicky when you're trying to stop me from asking questions."
Claire left the room ten minutes later.
She did not slam the door.
That made Hannah more nervous.
Walter found Hannah in the kitchen that afternoon.
"You upset Miss Whitmore."
"She'll recover."
"People like Claire usually do."
Hannah studied him.
"Do you trust her?"
Walter opened the refrigerator, took out a bottle of water, and closed the door.
"I trust patterns."
"That's not an answer."
"It is the only answer that keeps old men alive in this family."
Hannah disliked how much that sounded like a warning.
That night she searched the household medical files. The original accident report said Nicholas's car had gone through a guardrail on May 14. Severe spinal trauma. Head injury. Two weeks in intensive care.
A line in the insurance file caught her attention.
Mechanical inspection: unavailable.
She searched again.
No brake report. No tow-yard photographs. No independent vehicle assessment.
Hannah called the county records office the next morning from a grocery store parking lot.
"The file shows a supplemental mechanical report," the clerk told her.
"Can I request it?"
"If you're authorized."
"Who requested the original?"
Keyboard clicking.
"Walter Bell."
Hannah felt cold.
Before she could ask more, her phone buzzed.
A photo message from an unknown number.
Ethan was walking out of school with his backpack on.
The picture had been taken from across the street.
Under it were six words.
STOP LOOKING INTO MAY 14.
Hannah forgot how to breathe.
She called Ethan's school so fast she dialed the wrong number once.
"Do not let my brother leave with anyone," she told the secretary. "Anyone. I'm coming now."
She turned toward her car.
A black SUV pulled into the lot and blocked her path.
The rear window lowered.
Nicholas sat inside.
"Get in," he said.
"Move the car."
"Hannah, get in."
"My brother--"
"Is in Walter's car with two security men. They're taking him to the estate."
Hannah froze.
"How do you know?"
Nicholas held up his phone.
The same photograph was on his screen.
May you like
But his message contained seven additional words.
SEND THE NURSE HOME OR THE BOY PAYS.
