Chapter 10
The discovery in the attic cast a long, chilling shadow over the peaceful domesticity Julian had fought so hard to build. He spent the entire night alone in his study, cross-referencing Clara’s medical records from five years ago with the prescription dispensing logs from the regional hospital where Elena had previously worked. The patterns were subtle, obscured by forged signatures and compliant medical professionals, but the implications were undeniable. Elena had possessed both the means and the motive to manipulate Clara’s end-of-life care.
When the first light of dawn filtered through the study windows, Julian made up his mind. He couldn't simply let Elena walk away into quiet obscurity with a signed settlement if there was a possibility she was a murderer. He needed definitive proof before taking the evidence to federal prosecutors, and that meant confronting the past directly.
He dialed Marcus’s private cell phone, waking the attorney immediately. "Marcus, I need you to halt the final filing of the civil settlement. We aren't done yet."
"Julian, what are you talking about?" Marcus’s voice sounded groggy and alarmed. "The ink is practically dry. If you back out now without cause, her high-priced legal team will smell blood in the water."
"I found Clara’s private journal hidden in the attic," Julian said, his voice hard and unyielding. "She documented Elena’s deliberate tampering with her medication before she died. We have a potential homicide investigation on our hands, Marcus, not just a custody dispute."
There was a long, heavy silence on the other end of the line. When Marcus spoke again, all traces of sleepiness were gone. "Good God, Julian. Are you certain? Because if we bring this to the district attorney without airtight corroboration, Elena will tear us apart in the press."
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"I’m going to pull Clara’s original autopsy tissue samples for independent toxicology screening through a private lab," Julian instructed, his resolve hardening. "Get in touch with Dr. Evelyn Vance—no relation to Elena—at the state forensic institute. Tell her I need an immediate, confidential panel run on historical samples. Whatever it costs, I don't care."
As Julian hung up the phone, he looked out across the lawn toward the front gates. Elena thought she had won by escaping civil ruin, but she had fundamentally underestimated the depths to which a father would go when he realized the monster who tortured his children might also have murdered their mother.
