Chapter 20 - THE CAMERA ABOVE THE STAIRS
Judith had installed indoor security cameras after a burglary at her home.
One camera faced the upstairs hallway outside the guest bedroom where Liam slept.
Grant learned about the footage the morning after Liam died.
“My mother said the camera stopped recording,” he told investigators.
“But it didn’t?” I asked.
Grant shook his head.
“She gave me a copy.”
“Where is it?”
“In a safe-deposit box.”
Three years.
For three years, evidence of my son’s final night had sat inside a bank vault.
Grant’s attorney advised him not to surrender it without an agreement. Grant ignored him.
The video had no sound, but the time stamp was clear.
At 2:17 a.m., Liam opened the bedroom door and leaned against the wall.
Judith came upstairs.
He pointed toward his chest.
She guided him back into the room.
At 2:34, she returned carrying a glass of water and two tablets.
At 2:49, Liam stumbled into the hallway again.
He dropped to his knees.
Judith stood over him for almost twenty seconds before helping him up.
At 3:06, Liam collapsed outside the bedroom.
Judith knelt beside him.
Then she stood and walked downstairs.
She did not return for four minutes.
The emergency call began at 3:11.
“What was she doing downstairs?” the investigator asked.
Grant stared at the frozen image.
“I don’t know.”
I did.
“She was removing the genetic report.”
Judith had kept the report in a kitchen drawer. Grant had admitted seeing it there earlier that week.
A search warrant was executed at her home that afternoon.
Investigators found shredded medical documents inside a locked basement cabinet, along with donor records from the Mercer Foundation and old correspondence with Dr. Levin.
They also found a handwritten note from Judith.
If Liam is labeled cardiac, the Strong Families launch must be postponed. Grant needs to manage Mara until after the donor dinner.
The campaign had been worth four million dollars in pledges.
Judith had gambled with my son’s life for a fundraising launch and the Mercer family image.
Grant watched investigators carry boxes from his mother’s house.
“She told me the campaign would fund screenings for thousands of children.”
“And your child did not receive the treatment he needed.”
“I thought there was time.”
“That is what people say after spending someone else’s.”
Judith stepped onto the porch as officers searched her home.
She looked directly at me.
“You have no idea what I built.”
May you like
I held her gaze.
“I know what you buried beneath it.”
