Chapter 4 - The Investigation
The following weeks blurred into a nightmare of paperwork and interviews. CPS visited the apartment unannounced. They interviewed Clara gently, asking about Grandma and the medicine. My daughter’s innocent answers broke my heart all over again.
Detective Morrison kept me updated. Evidence was mounting. Pharmacy records showed Linda had refilled her prescription days before the incident. Neighbors confirmed hearing arguments about Clara’s “fussiness.”
At work, colleagues rallied around me. Maria Santos from the ambulance crew brought meals. Dr. Walsh checked on Clara personally. For the first time, I realized how isolated I had let myself become, relying on family that didn’t deserve the title.
One evening after a long shift, I found Natalie waiting outside the hospital. She looked desperate.
“Mom’s devastated,” she said. “We’re family, Evan. Blood. You can’t just cut us off.”
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I looked at her for a long moment. “Blood didn’t stop you from wishing my daughter dead. Stay away from us.”
She cursed me as I walked away, but her words had no power anymore. I had a new priority. Clara.
