Chapter 3 - THE BANDS ON MASON’S WRIST
Mason was admitted for observation that afternoon.
The toxicology team found traces of clonazepam in his system, though he had no current prescription for it. The drug could explain the confusion, weakness, and slowed speech documented during several of his previous episodes.
Emily sat beside his hospital bed while a nurse cut away the old wristbands.
“Why did you keep these?” Emily asked.
Mason watched them fall onto the tray.
“Lucas said dates matter.”
Across the room, Lucas sat with his knees pulled to his chest.
He had found the recorder three weeks earlier inside Daniel’s desk. It was the device Daniel used to dictate investment notes during his commute. Lucas had taken it after hearing his father replay Mason’s crying.
“I thought if Dad knew I heard it, he’d erase everything,” Lucas said.
“So you carried it all this time?”
Lucas nodded.
Emily wanted to pull both boys into her arms.
Neither moved toward her.
That distance hurt more than Daniel’s accusations.
Dr. Elaine Brooks, a pediatric toxicologist, explained that the hospital could not determine from one blood sample how often Mason had been drugged. They would need prior records, prescription histories, and hair testing.
“Could these doses have killed him?” Emily asked.
“They could have suppressed his breathing, especially if combined with other medication.”
Mason looked at the wall.
Daniel had told the court Emily was careless with medication.
The accusation had nearly become the truth he manufactured.
Priya arrived with records from the custody case. Daniel had submitted emergency-room summaries after each episode. Three stated that symptoms began while Mason was in Emily’s care.
Lucas pointed to a date.
“We were with Dad that weekend.”
Emily checked the shared parenting calendar.
He was right.
Daniel had picked the boys up Friday after school. Mason went to the emergency room early Sunday morning. Daniel returned both children to Emily Sunday evening and filed an emergency custody motion Monday.
The hospital record named Daniel as the accompanying parent.
His affidavit said Emily had brought Mason.
Priya photographed the pages.
“This isn’t a mistake,” she said.
Emily thought of Meredith’s expression when Judge Hale read the same date in court.
“Would his lawyer know?”
“Not necessarily. Attorneys rely on sworn information from clients. But once she knows it may be false, she has obligations.”
A nurse entered carrying a sealed evidence bag containing the wristbands.
Behind her came Tessa Green, the trust administrator.
Tessa had managed Thomas Reed’s trust for six years. She looked exhausted.
“We froze all reimbursements,” she said. “But there’s something you need to see.”
During the past twenty-two months, Daniel had submitted $486,000 in medical and therapeutic expenses for the twins.
Emily stared at her.
“That’s impossible.”
Tessa placed copies on the table.
Some requests carried Emily’s signature.
Others carried signatures that looked like hers.
Every reimbursement had been deposited into accounts Daniel controlled.
The largest payments went to a clinic called Harbor Path Behavioral Health.
The same clinic that supplied Daniel’s reports claiming Mason was afraid of his mother.
Emily turned toward Priya.
“I want every record they have.”
Obtaining them would mean admitting she had authorized at least some of the payments.
It might damage her custody case.
May you like
It might expose her to civil liability.
She signed the request anyway.
