Chapter 6 - A Stepmother's KindnessEleanor Hale arrived at the hospital carrying white roses.
She wore a pale gray coat and a worried expression so carefully composed that it looked rehearsed.
At the nurses' station, she introduced herself as Laura's stepmother.
"I practically raised her," Eleanor explained.
The nurse politely told her she would need the patient's permission to visit.
Eleanor smiled.
"Of course."
But when Daniel appeared from Laura's room, the smile faded.
"Daniel, darling. How is she?"
"Awake."
"Oh, thank heaven."
Eleanor pressed a hand to her chest.
"I've been frightened sick."
Daniel glanced at the flowers.
"She needs rest."
"Just five minutes."
"I'll ask her."
Eleanor's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly.
"You make it sound as though I'm a stranger."
Daniel thought of her question about the blue folder.
"You aren't."
He paused.
"That's why this is difficult."
Laura agreed to see Eleanor.
She wanted answers.
Eleanor entered with tears in her eyes and placed the roses on a side table.
"My darling girl."
She reached for Laura.
Laura did not lift her arms.
Eleanor hesitated.
"You're angry with me?"
"I'm tired."
"Of course you are."
Eleanor sat.
"Rebecca told me there was a terrible misunderstanding."
Laura watched her.
"What misunderstanding?"
"About the milk."
Laura said nothing.
Eleanor leaned forward.
"Sweetheart, Sophie is a little girl. She saw something confusing during a frightening emergency."
"She said Rebecca put something in my drink."
"Children are suggestible."
"Who suggested it?"
Eleanor's smile faltered.
"I'm only asking you not to destroy your relationship with your sister over a child's frightened recollection."
Laura felt anger rising through her exhaustion.
"My daughter watched me collapse."
"I understand."
"No, you don't."
Eleanor sat back.
Laura continued.
"She's six years old. She thought she was watching her mother die. I'm not going to tell her she imagined something simply because it makes the adults uncomfortable."
For several seconds, Eleanor studied her.
Then she changed tactics.
"Your father would be proud of how fiercely you protect that child."
Laura looked away.
The mention of Henry still hurt.
Eleanor reached into her handbag.
"Which brings me to something practical."
She removed a two-page document.
"Grant and I have prepared a temporary management authorization. Just until you're feeling better."
Laura stared.
"What?"
"Hale Storage can't stop operating every time there's a family emergency."
"You mean every time someone collapses after drinking something suspicious?"
"Laura."
"Show me."
Eleanor placed the papers on the bed.
Laura read the first paragraph.
It would authorize Eleanor and Grant to exercise certain management powers during Laura's medical absence, including executing documents connected to the South Yard transaction.
Laura looked up.
"You want me to approve the sale."
"We need to preserve the company's value."
"You want me to sign away my objections while I'm lying in a hospital bed."
"You're being dramatic."
Laura handed the papers back.
"No."
Eleanor's face tightened.
"Laura, the lenders are watching. If the transaction fails, there may be serious consequences."
"For whom?"
"Everyone."
"Then let everyone see the real numbers."
Eleanor slowly returned the document to her handbag.
"You always were Henry's daughter."
Laura felt the insult beneath the words.
"What does that mean?"
"It means you would rather tear something apart than admit someone else knows how to preserve it."
Laura's pulse quickened.
"Did you know about the forged consent?"
Eleanor stood.
"I won't continue a conversation while you're under medication and making accusations."
"I'm making an accusation because someone signed my name."
"Then hire an attorney."
"I already did."
For the first time, Eleanor looked genuinely surprised.
"Who?"
Laura said nothing.
Eleanor reached for her coat.
"Get some rest, darling."
At the door, she paused.
"And be careful whom you trust. Family can disappoint you."
Laura watched her leave.
Only after the door closed did she realize her hands were shaking.
In the hallway, Eleanor found Grant waiting near the elevators.
"Well?" he asked.
"She refused."
"Then we're finished."
"Don't be ridiculous."
Grant lowered his voice.
"The bank needs the member consent confirmed. We have forty-eight hours."
Eleanor looked toward Laura's room.
"Then perhaps the bank should be reminded how much business we bring them."
"That won't fix a forged signature."
Eleanor's expression hardened.
"Stop using that word in public."
Grant glanced around.
"Rebecca is losing control."
"Rebecca has always been weak."
"She's talking about hiring a lawyer."
"Let her."
Grant's eyes narrowed.
"What if she tells them about the packet?"
Eleanor looked at him sharply.
"Keep your voice down."
He stepped closer.
"You said Laura would be out of the way for a day. Instead, the police are collecting evidence and she's awake."
Eleanor adjusted her coat.
"You're frightened."
"You're not?"
"I'm thinking."
She walked toward the elevator.
Grant followed.
"What do we do?"
Eleanor pressed the button.
"Find the documents Henry left."
"Someone already searched Laura's study."
"And?"
"No blue folder."
Eleanor turned slowly.
"What do you mean?"
"The drawer was empty when our man got there."
For a moment, the polished composure vanished.
"You're certain?"
"Positive."
The elevator doors opened.
Eleanor did not step inside.
May you like
If their own intruder had not taken the folder, then someone else had.
And somewhere beyond the hospital walls, a person might already be reading the evidence she had spent years trying to bury.
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