Chapter 4 - THE APOLOGY
Luca reached the hospital in eleven minutes. Rachel arrived less than five minutes later, and both of them found Wendy standing in the hallway outside Jessi’s room with a bouquet of white roses in her arms.
A hospital security officer stood beside the door.
Wendy smiled when she saw Luca. “You’re overreacting again.”
Luca did not slow down. “Why are you here?”
“To apologize to your mother.”
“You were told not to contact her.”
“No, I was advised not to. There’s a difference.”
Rachel stepped forward. “Actually, after the protective report, direct contact was specifically discouraged.”
Wendy looked at her. “And you are?”
“My attorney,” Luca said.
The smile left Wendy’s face.
Inside the room, Jessi was sitting upright with her blanket pulled high across her chest. She looked pale but alert.
On the bedside table sat the roses.
Beside them was a sealed envelope.
Luca noticed it immediately.
“What’s that?”
Jessi shook her head. “I didn’t open it.”
Wendy crossed her arms. “It’s a letter.”
Rachel picked up the envelope with a tissue and turned it over.
No return address.
“Did you bring this?” she asked.
Wendy’s eyes narrowed. “It’s private.”
“Then yes,” Rachel said.
Luca looked at his mother. “What did she say to you?”
Jessi swallowed. “She said everything was a misunderstanding. She said if I told the social worker I was confused, we could all go home.”
Wendy gave an exhausted laugh. “Because she is confused.”
Jessi flinched.
Luca stepped between them.
“No more.”
The two words were quiet, but the room changed.
Wendy tilted her head. “No more what?”
“No more speaking for her. No more deciding what she eats. No more hiding her mail. No more touching her money. No more telling me she’s confused when she says something you don’t like.”
Wendy’s cheeks flushed. “You are choosing your mother over your wife.”
“I am choosing the person who was bleeding on my kitchen floor.”
“She fell!”
“The camera says otherwise.”
Wendy went still.
Luca watched the realization reach her.
“Camera?” she said.
Rachel’s expression remained unreadable.
Wendy looked from Luca to Rachel and back again. “What camera?”
Luca did not answer.
That silence did more damage than any accusation.
Wendy’s breathing changed.
“You’re trying to trap me.”
“No,” Luca said. “I came home early.”
For the first time, Wendy lost control of her face. Anger broke through the smooth surface she had maintained since the kitchen.
“You have no idea what it was like taking care of her while you traveled,” she snapped. “She complained about everything. She left cups everywhere. She forgot things. She refused to listen.”
Jessi’s eyes filled with tears.
Luca turned to his mother. “You don’t have to hear this.”
But Jessi raised one hand.
“Let her talk.”
Wendy laughed sharply. “Fine. She wanted attention every minute. She acted helpless when you were around and then defied me the second you left.”
Jessi looked at her. “I was hungry.”
The room fell silent.
Wendy opened her mouth, but no answer came.
Jessi’s voice grew steadier. “You locked food away.”
“That was for your health.”
“You hid my medicine.”
“You took it wrong.”
“You took my phone.”
“You called Luca constantly.”
“Because I was afraid.”
Wendy looked toward the door. “This is ridiculous.”
Jessi did not stop.
“You told me if I made him worry, he would put me in a nursing home.”
Luca felt as if the floor shifted beneath him.
He had never said anything remotely like that.
Jessi continued. “You said Luca was tired of me. You said he wanted my money used for the house because I was already costing him too much.”
Wendy’s face had turned pale.
“That is a lie.”
Jessi’s fingers tightened around the blanket. “You said it.”
“I was frustrated.”
“You said it every week.”
Dana arrived during the exchange and stood quietly near the doorway. She heard enough.
Wendy saw her and stopped talking.
Dana spoke calmly. “Mrs. Bennett, the hospital has asked that you leave.”
“This is my family.”
“Not this room.”
Wendy looked at Luca. “You’re going to regret humiliating me.”
Rachel answered before he could. “That sounds like a threat. I suggest you choose your next words carefully.”
Wendy picked up her purse.
Then she glanced at the sealed envelope.
Luca saw it.
So did Rachel.
“Leave that,” Rachel said.
Wendy’s hand stopped.
“What?”
“The envelope.”
“I already gave it to her.”
“Exactly.”
Wendy stared at them, then walked out.
Security escorted her to the elevator.
When she was gone, Rachel placed the envelope in a clear plastic sleeve and opened it carefully.
Inside was a typed statement.
It said Jessi Bennett wished to withdraw all accusations against Wendy.
It said she had suffered recent confusion and memory problems.
It said Wendy had always cared for her properly.
At the bottom was a signature line.
Rachel looked up. “She came here for a recantation.”
Jessi covered her mouth.
Luca read the statement twice.
Then he noticed something else.
At the bottom of the final page, in small print, was the name of the attorney who prepared it.
Caldwell & Finch.
Rachel frowned.
“You know them?” Luca asked.
“I know one of their partners.”
“Wendy’s lawyer?”
“No.” Rachel looked troubled. “Eric Vance’s.”
The connection tightened.
That afternoon, Rachel contacted investigators and supplied the new document. Dana updated the protective services report.
Jessi was discharged before sunset.
Luca took her not to the house, but to the furnished apartment overlooking the river.
There was fresh food in the refrigerator, clean sheets on the bed, and no locks on the pantry.
Jessi stood in the kitchen for a long time without moving.
Then she opened a cabinet.
She closed it.
Opened it again.
“Mom?”
She looked at him and gave a small, embarrassed smile. “I just wanted to make sure I could.”
Luca nearly broke.
Instead, he walked over and opened every cabinet door in the kitchen.
Then the refrigerator.
Then the pantry.
“Nothing in this place is locked from you.”
Jessi touched his cheek.
“You look tired.”
“So do you.”
For the first time in weeks, she laughed.
It was weak, but real.
At 9:30 that night, Luca’s phone rang from an unknown number.
He answered.
A man’s voice said, “Mr. Bennett, my name is Noah Price. I used to work for Eric Vance.”
May you like
Luca stood very still.
“I think your wife and Eric are doing this to more than one family.”
