Chapter 7: The Secret Behind Her Husband's Death
For a moment, I couldn't move.
Outside, Maya knocked twice.
Nadine stood beside the dining table, holding her phone against her chest. Her face had gone pale, and her eyes kept moving between me and the message on my screen.
Ask her what happened the night Dad died.
I read the words again.
My husband had been dead for six years.
Six years since the hospital room.
Six years since the doctor had stepped into the hallway and told me there was nothing more they could do.
Six years since Terrell had held my shoulders and promised that everything would be okay.
What could Nadine possibly know?
“Sweetheart,” I said, “what happened that night?””
She swallowed.
“I don't know everything.””
“Then tell me what you do know.””
Another knock came from the front door.
“Laverne?”” Maya called.
“It's me.””
I looked toward the entrance.
“Just a moment!””
Nadine shook her head.
“Please don't tell her yet.””
“Why?””
“Because I need to explain it first.””
I returned my attention to her.
“I'm listening.””
She took a shaky breath.
“About three months ago, Terrell was looking for some old insurance papers. He couldn't find them in the filing cabinet, so he started going through the boxes in the spare bedroom.””
I nodded.
“And?””
“He found a folder with your husband's name on it.””
My heart began beating faster.
“What kind of folder?””
“I don't know exactly. Medical papers, I think. There were hospital documents and some handwritten notes.””
I gripped the back of a chair.
“Why was he looking through those?””
“He said he was checking some financial records.””
I frowned.
“Go on.””
Nadine looked down at her phone.
“One night, he left the folder on the dining table. I wasn't trying to read it. I was putting away the mail, and I saw your name on one of the documents.””
“What did it say?””
She hesitated.
“There was a note about a telephone call made to the hospital.””
I stared at her.
“What telephone call?””
“He became angry when he realized I'd seen it. He grabbed the papers and told me they were private.””
My throat tightened.
“Did you read anything?””
“Only a few lines.””
She opened her phone and showed me a photograph.
It was a picture of a handwritten page.
The image was slightly blurry, but I could make out several words.
Patient's wife contacted.
Request to discuss condition.
Family decision pending.
I read the lines again.
“What does this mean?””
Nadine shook her head.
“I don't know. But Terrell told me not to mention it to anyone.””
“Why would he care?””
“He said it was an old family matter.””
I looked at the document.
A cold sensation moved through my arms.
I remembered that night.
My husband had been admitted to the hospital after collapsing at home. The doctors had told me his condition was serious.
I remembered sitting in a plastic chair beneath fluorescent lights.
I remembered asking whether I could speak to him.
And I remembered being told that Terrell was handling the arrangements.
My son had said his father was too weak to receive visitors.
He had said the doctors wanted us to wait.
He had said there was nothing I could do.
And I had believed him.
“Did you take this photograph?”” I asked.
Nadine nodded.
“I was frightened. I didn't know what it meant, but I thought I should keep it.””
I stared at her.
“You've been carrying this alone?””
She nodded again.
Before I could ask another question, Maya knocked more urgently.
“Laverne? Is everything okay?””
I went to the door and opened it.
Maya stepped inside.
She was in her early thirties, with her hair tied back and a worried expression on her face.
She immediately walked toward her sister.
“Nadine!””
They embraced.
Maya held her tightly.
“Are you hurt?””
Nadine shook her head, then began crying against her shoulder.
Maya looked at me.
“What happened?””
“Terrell frightened her again,” I said.
“She's coming with you tonight.””
Maya nodded.
“Of course.””
Then she noticed the phone in my hand.
“What is that?””
I showed her the photograph.
Her expression changed as she read it.
“Where did you get this?””
“Nadine found it among Terrell's papers.””
Maya looked at her sister.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“I was scared.””
Maya closed her eyes briefly.
Then she turned back to me.
“Mrs. Laverne, I think you should get the original hospital records.””
I stared at her.
“Why?””
“Because Nadine found another document.””
She opened her own handbag and removed a folded sheet of paper.
“I wasn't going to bring this up tonight, but I think you need to see it.””
She handed it to me.
At the top was the name of the hospital where my husband had died.
Below it was a record of a telephone conversation.
The date was six years earlier.
And beside the caller's name was a name I knew better than my own.
Terrell.
I read the entry.
Then I read it again.
The hospital had attempted to contact me regarding an urgent decision about my husband's care.
According to the note, the call had been redirected.
I looked at Maya.
“What does this mean?””
She swallowed.
“It means someone may have prevented you from receiving that call.””
I felt the room tilt.
Terrell had told me the hospital couldn't reach me because the lines were busy.
He had told me he had spoken to the doctors.
He had told me his father had been comfortable.
I looked at the document again.
Then I noticed the final handwritten line.
Caller requested that spouse not be contacted until further notice.
My fingers began to tremble.
“Who wrote this?””
Maya pointed to the initials at the bottom.
I recognized them.
They belonged to the nurse whose name appeared on my husband's discharge paperwork.
I looked toward Nadine.
“Does Terrell know you have this?””
She nodded slowly.
“He found out I photographed it.””
“And?””
Her voice cracked.
“He said if I ever showed you, I would destroy this family.””
I stared at the paper.
Then I heard my son's words again.
Dad would be ashamed of you.
May you like
For the first time, I wondered whether Terrell had been protecting his father's memory.
Or protecting something far more personal.
