Chapter 6 - THE DOCTOR'S SIGNATURE
The independent physician arrived at the cottage the following morning.
Dr. Helen Marsh had treated Eleanor before the fire. She was now semi-retired, but when Daniel explained the situation, she agreed to examine her.
Eleanor sat near the window while Dr. Marsh checked her pulse, blood pressure, memory, and mobility.
“Do you know what day it is?” the doctor asked.
“Thursday,” Eleanor replied.
“And where are you?”
“Margaret's cottage. Though Margaret isn't here anymore.”
“Do you know who this man is?”
Eleanor looked at Daniel.
“My son.”
Dr. Marsh smiled.
“Can you tell me his full name?”
“Daniel Edward Whitmore. He was born in March. He hated peas until he was ten.”
Daniel laughed through his tears.
“Still do.”
The doctor completed her examination and stepped outside with him.
“She has suffered significant stress,” Dr. Marsh said. “Her memory is not perfect, and she may have periods of confusion. But she is not incapable of making decisions. There is no medical basis for keeping her isolated against her wishes.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Can you put that in writing?”
“Of course.”
“Was she ever declared mentally incompetent?”
Dr. Marsh hesitated.
“I signed a preliminary assessment eighteen months ago.”
Daniel went still.
“You signed it?”
“I was told she had suffered a severe trauma and was a danger to herself. I was asked to review her condition before she was transferred to a specialist facility.”
“Did you examine her?”
“No. I was given records from another physician.”
“Whose records?”
“Dr. Simon Vale.”
Daniel recognized the name from Margaret's notebook.
“Did you ever meet my mother?”
“Not after the fire.”
“Then why did you sign?”
Dr. Marsh looked ashamed.
“I believed the hospital's report. I should have insisted on seeing her.”
“Who asked you to sign?”
“Robert Whitmore's office.”
Daniel turned away.
Another trusted professional.
Another signature that had helped erase his mother.
“Can you help us correct it?”
“Yes. But I will need the original file.”
Victor had already found a copy in the estate archive.
The document was dated three days after the fire. It described Eleanor as disoriented, unable to recognize family members, and likely to require permanent supervised care.
But the signature of the examining doctor did not match the signature on the clinic's appointment register.
Dr. Marsh studied both.
“This is not my signature.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Are you certain?”
“Absolutely.”
The document had been forged.
The physician's name had been used to support Eleanor's confinement.
Victor photographed the page.
“We'll send this to the authorities.”
Dr. Marsh looked toward the cottage.
“May I speak with Mrs. Whitmore?”
Daniel nodded.
Inside, Eleanor had been looking through the old photograph album Clara had found.
Dr. Marsh sat beside her.
“Eleanor, I'm sorry.”
His mother looked at the doctor.
“For what?”
“For not asking to see you.”
Eleanor studied her face.
“You believed them.”
“Yes.”
“So did my son.”
Daniel lowered his eyes.
Eleanor reached for his hand.
“You were grieving.”
“I should have looked.”
“You were told I was dead. What could you have looked for?”
He could not answer.
She pressed his fingers.
“Don't waste the time we have left punishing yourself.”
Daniel leaned forward and rested his forehead against her hand.
Outside, Victor received a call.
He listened without speaking.
Then he came to the door.
“Daniel. The crematorium has no record of your mother's cremation.”
Daniel looked up.
“What?”
“They have a file for the funeral, but no authorization, no certificate, and no ashes recorded under Eleanor Whitmore.”
The room seemed to tilt.
The coffin had been empty.
May you like
The funeral had been a performance.
And Robert had made Daniel stand beside it and say goodbye to a woman who was still alive.
