Chapter 7 - The Investigation Deepens
Investigator Vance stepped past us into the entryway without waiting for an invitation, her sharp eyes scanning the tidy living room, taking in the family photos on the mantelpiece—pictures of Mason smiling, Patrick holding Ruby, and all of us laughing together at the park.
“Nice home,” Vance remarked dryly, setting her briefcase on the coffee table. “It creates a very pleasant facade. But child welfare cases require us to look past appearances.”
“There is no facade here,” Patrick said, his voice hard, stepping into the room with his fists clenched at his sides. He had learned his lesson from the hospital incident; he wasn't going to let anyone intimidate his family, especially not an aggressive bureaucrat armed with anonymous, malicious gossip. “The hospital cleared Mason months ago. Dr. Evelyn Brooks wrote an exhaustive official addendum to the medical records proving the incubator’s firmware failed. My son saved his sister’s life.”
Vance pulled a printed document from her folder and slid it across the table.
“Dr. Brooks’ report was filed under institutional pressure, Mr. Hayes,” Vance countered smoothly. “ospitals hate liability lawsuits. When a minor child causes a code blue event in an intensive care ward, legal departments look for technical scapegoats to avoid catastrophic malpractice claims. The firmware glitch was a convenient excuse provided by an administrator protecting the hospital's reputation.”
I stared at her in utter disbelief. “Are you out of your mind? Dr. Brooks is a dedicated neonatologist who has saved hundreds of lives! She has no reason to lie for us!”
“She has every reason to protect her ward from security negligence lawsuits,” Vance replied coldly. “Furthermore, the anonymous tip came from Nurse Teresa Morgan, who stated in her secondary deposition that the boy had shown extreme hostility toward the infant prior to the incident.”
My stomach churned. Nurse Teresa? That couldn't be right. Teresa had been kind to us. Why would she turn around and file a malicious report months later?
“Teresa wouldn't do that,” I whispered, shaking my head.
“People say a lot of things off the record when they fear for a child’s safety,” Vance said, clicking her pen. “Where is Mason right now?”
“He is at school, where he belongs,” Patrick snapped. “And you will not be interrogating him without his parents and legal counsel present.”
Just then, the front door unlocked, and the heavy oak panel swung open.
“Mom? Dad? I’m home!”
Mason’s voice echoed through the hallway. He dropped his backpack by the coat rack, humming a cheerful tune, but stopped dead in his tracks as he walked into the living room and saw Investigator Vance sitting by our coffee table with her ominous clipboard.
May you like
Mason’s cheerful expression vanished instantly. The color drained from his face, and he instinctively took a small step backward toward the front door, his fingers gripping the straps of his schoolbag as if he were ready to bolt.
The trauma of that awful day in the NICU rushed back into his eyes in a single terrifying heartbeat.
