Chapter 10 - The Voice Behind the Door
The video had no sound, but Daniel did not need one. He watched Oliver’s small hands strike the glass, watched Sloane glance back, and watched her continue down the hall without opening the door.
He saved the clip and sent it to Asha. Watching Oliver’s small hands strike the glass, Daniel finally admitted that looking away had also been a choice.
At breakfast, Oliver ate two bites of toast and asked, “Am I still going to Vermont?”
“No,” Daniel said. “You’re staying here. We’re going to find someone who can help you talk about Mom, and you’ll get to meet them before anything is decided.”
“Will Sloane come?”
“No.”
Oliver considered that. “Will you go to work?”
“I’ll work from home today.”
“Tomorrow?”
Daniel hesitated. He had a board meeting, an audit call, and a dozen calls from clients. He could feel his old reflex pulling him toward the calendar. Then he closed the laptop.
“Tomorrow too.”
Oliver’s shoulders dropped a fraction, as if he had been holding them up for months.
Asha arrived with forensic accountant Denise Park. The records showed duplicate invoices, vague service descriptions, and Brightwater transfers approved after Daniel had left the office.
“This is organized,” Denise said. “Someone knew how the system worked and knew which checks you wouldn’t look at.”
“Can you prove who entered the approvals?”
“I can prove which terminal they came from. I’ll need the server logs to establish who was logged in.”
Asha’s phone rang. She listened, then covered the microphone.
“Pine Hollow says they have an intake appointment scheduled for Oliver tomorrow morning. They believe you approved it.”
“I did not.”
“They say they received signed consent and a letter from a treating specialist.”
“Dr. Harlan never wrote one.”
Asha’s expression turned grim. “Then someone has given them fraudulent documents.”
Daniel called Pine Hollow to cancel. The coordinator said transport was already arranged because the referral described Oliver as an immediate risk.
“Who made that claim?” Daniel asked.
The coordinator checked her file.
“Ms. Sloane Whitaker.”
Daniel ended the call and looked at Asha.
May you like
“She isn’t just trying to persuade me anymore,” he said. “She’s trying to take him.”
Asha was already reaching for her coat. “Then we need to make sure she cannot.”
