Chapter 8 - JUDITH ENTERS THE ER
Judith had always known how to make cruelty sound respectable.
She approached the nurses’ station as though she owned the hospital.
“I want Dr. Ellison removed from my granddaughter’s case.”
“I’m no longer the attending physician,” I said. “Pediatric cardiology has assumed care.”
“Then leave.”
Brooke stepped between us.
“Mara recognized the heart rhythm.”
Judith did not look at her.
“You’re emotional. Go sit with Grant.”
Brooke’s face tightened.
Grant came out of Maisie’s room and immediately moved toward his mother.
“Mom, they think it’s Brugada.”
Judith’s hand froze around the strap of her handbag.
Only for a second.
But I saw it.
“You know what that is,” I said.
She recovered quickly. “I can read.”
“Grant’s uncle died suddenly at nineteen.”
“That was forty years ago.”
“Your brother,” I said. “Not some distant relative.”
Judith’s voice hardened.
“Thomas drank. He used drugs. No one knew what killed him.”
Grant looked at her.
“You told me it was an aneurysm.”
Judith finally turned toward her son.
“Because you were nine. What was I supposed to tell you?”
“You could have told me when Liam died.”
“Liam had a virus.”
“You don’t know that.”
Her eyes shifted toward me.
“Mara has spent three years looking for someone to blame because she cannot accept that she left her sick child to work an overnight shift.”
Brooke inhaled sharply.
Grant said nothing.
That silence hurt more than Judith’s accusation.
I stepped closer.
“Liam was with you that night.”
“And I called for help.”
“After he collapsed.”
“He was sleeping.”
“Did he complain about his heart?”
Judith’s lips pressed together.
Dr. Shah returned with a tablet.
“We’ve found a reference to previous genetic counseling in the family’s insurance records.”
Grant frowned. “What previous counseling?”
Priya looked at Judith.
“The appointment was made under Liam Mercer’s name four months before his death.”
I felt the floor shift beneath me.
“I never took Liam to genetic counseling.”
Priya’s expression became guarded.
“According to the record, his father attended.”
Everyone looked at Grant.
He stared at the screen.
Then at his mother.
Judith spoke first.
“This is not the place.”
I could barely hear my own voice.
“Where was the place, Judith?”
She reached for Grant’s arm.
“Do not answer questions until we speak to an attorney.”
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That was when I knew Liam’s death had never been the mystery they claimed it was.
It had been a secret.
