Chapter 3 - The Page They Forgot
Evelyn Mercer walked toward the bedside table as if the room belonged to her more completely than the man lying in the bed.
Nicole stayed seated.
Arthur Vale stood near the windows, hands folded in front of him.
Dana remained by the IV pole.
Paxton did not move.
Evelyn reached for the black notebook.
Nicole's pulse jumped.
The page with future entries was still inside.
So were the camera intervals.
So were the false medication records.
Evelyn flipped through the notebook slowly.
Her manicured finger stopped near the center.
Then she frowned.
Nicole's heart hammered.
"Something wrong?"
Evelyn looked up.
"No."
But her voice had changed.
She flipped backward.
Then forward again.
Arthur moved closer.
"What is it?"
Evelyn ignored him.
She counted pages under her breath.
Nicole understood.
A page was missing.
Not one Nicole had removed.
Not one she even knew existed.
Evelyn's eyes shifted to Dana.
"Who has been in this room?"
Dana answered calmly.
"Mrs. Mercer, Mr. Vale, Mrs. Mercer, myself, and two housekeeping employees."
Evelyn looked at Nicole.
"You listed her twice."
Dana did not blink.
"You and Nicole are both Mrs. Mercer."
For the first time, irritation crossed Evelyn's face.
Nicole nearly smiled.
Arthur cleared his throat.
"Which page is missing?"
Evelyn closed the notebook.
"Nothing important."
Nicole knew immediately that it was extremely important.
Evelyn picked up the prescription bottle and studied the label.
Nicole watched Evelyn's hands more carefully than her face.
The older woman rotated the bottle twice.
She never checked the instructions.
She checked the name.
Then she checked the date printed beneath it.
Something in her shoulders relaxed.
Nicole noticed.
"When was that filled?"
Evelyn looked up.
"What?"
Nicole pointed at the bottle.
"The prescription."
"Why does it matter?"
"Because you seem interested in the date."
Arthur's gaze moved toward Evelyn.
Dana's did too.
Evelyn set the bottle down.
"I was making sure it was current."
Nicole leaned back in the chair.
"You ordered it?"
"Nathan did."
"For Paxton?"
"Obviously."
Nicole looked at Dana.
The nurse's expression remained neutral, but she had stopped entering information on her tablet.
"Was that medication on the hospital discharge list?"
Dana answered before Evelyn could interrupt.
"No."
The room changed.
Arthur looked at Dana.
"Are you certain?"
"Yes."
Evelyn's voice sharpened.
"Nathan updated the plan after discharge."
Dana looked at the bottle.
"Then there should be an order."
"There is."
"Where?"
Evelyn gestured toward the black notebook.
Dana shook her head.
"That isn't an order."
"It's a log."
Nicole saw irritation flash across Evelyn's face.
Arthur stepped closer to the table.
"This is getting unnecessarily technical."
Dana looked at him.
"Medication is technical."
Arthur stopped speaking.
Nicole felt something shift inside her.
Until that moment, she had been reacting to everyone else's certainty.
Evelyn knew what was best.
Reeves knew what happened.
Arthur knew what she should sign.
Dana knew what the monitors meant.
Nicole had accepted the role of frightened wife because there seemed to be no other role available.
But fear did not make her stupid.
She had spent years running operations for a nonprofit housing network before marrying Paxton.
She knew what records looked like when they were created honestly.
She also knew what documentation looked like when someone was trying too hard to make a future reader believe a particular story.
The notebook was not messy enough.
Real emergencies were full of crossed-out times, rushed handwriting, inconsistent pens, and incomplete notes.
This one looked curated.
Designed.
Prepared for discovery.
Nicole looked at the black cover again.
For the first time, she stopped seeing it as a medical object.
She saw it as a legal exhibit waiting to happen.
Then she looked at Nicole.
"Have you been giving him these?"
Nicole met her gaze.
"Dana handles his medication."
"That's not what I asked."
"Then ask Dana."
Evelyn's eyes cooled.
"You seem unusually defensive."
"My husband has been unconscious for three days."
"Your husband has been ill."
Nicole leaned forward.
"That's what I said."
Arthur stepped between the two women before the tension could sharpen further.
"This is not productive."
Evelyn looked at him.
"I did not ask for your opinion."
Arthur's expression tightened almost imperceptibly.
Nicole noticed.
Maybe the alliance between them was not as stable as it appeared.
Evelyn returned the bottle to the table.
"Dana, I'd like a private update."
Dana glanced at Nicole.
"I can provide the update here."
"Privately."
Dana hesitated.
Then she followed Evelyn into the hallway.
Arthur remained.
Nicole could feel Paxton listening beneath the performance of stillness.
Arthur walked toward the bed.
"You made a mistake earlier."
Nicole kept her tone even.
"Which one?"
"Tearing up the statement."
"I thought you said it was routine."
"Routine things can still matter."
"Then send me another copy."
Arthur's eyes narrowed.
"You want another copy?"
Nicole shrugged.
"I want to read it carefully."
Arthur studied her.
"What changed?"
"I stopped being tired."
He did not believe her.
She could see that clearly.
But he also did not know what she knew.
That uncertainty was useful.
Arthur took out his phone.
"I can email it."
"My phone was taken from the room."
"Then I'll print it."
"Perfect."
Arthur stared at her another moment.
Then he walked toward the door.
At the threshold, he stopped.
"Nicole."
"Yes?"
"Do not confuse Paxton's affection for you with ownership of this family."
Nicole looked at the unconscious man beside her.
"I never wanted ownership."
Arthur nodded.
"Everyone says that before they understand the numbers."
Then he left.
Nicole waited.
Paxton's eyes opened.
"You were right."
"About what?"
"Arthur and my mother."
"They're not fully aligned."
"No."
Paxton's gaze went toward the notebook.
"What page is missing?"
Nicole shook her head.
"I don't know."
Paxton looked confused.
"You didn't take it?"
"No."
His expression changed.
"Then someone else did."
Nicole glanced toward the hallway.
"Dana?"
"Maybe."
"You keep saying maybe."
"Because certainty is dangerous right now."
Nicole leaned closer.
"What could have been on that page?"
Paxton thought for several seconds.
"If it's the notebook I saw before I collapsed, the first page had names."
"Whose names?"
"Everyone involved in the Halcyon deal."
Nicole's eyes sharpened.
"Including your mother?"
"Including board members."
"Arthur?"
"I don't remember."
"Dana?"
"No."
Nicole exhaled.
"Then whoever has that page has a list of people who might be part of this."
Paxton gave a small nod.
"Or a list of people they want us to think are part of it."
Nicole looked at him in frustration.
"Is there anything in your family that isn't layered inside another lie?"
A faint expression touched his face.
"Christmas cards."
Nicole almost laughed.
"I hate you."
"Fair."
For one second, the room felt like their marriage again.
Then footsteps approached.
Paxton closed his eyes.
Evelyn returned alone.
Dana did not follow.
Nicole's stomach tightened.
"Where's Dana?"
Evelyn adjusted the cuff of her jacket.
"She's leaving."
Nicole stood.
"Why?"
"Her services are no longer required."
"She is Paxton's nurse."
"She was Paxton's nurse."
"You cannot dismiss her without discussing it with me."
Evelyn smiled faintly.
"Of course I can."
Nicole looked toward the hallway.
"I want to speak with her."
"She's already gone."
Nicole knew that was impossible.
Dana's bag had been in the service corridor less than ten minutes earlier.
"That was fast."
"Professional people know when to leave."
The words carried a warning.
Nicole sat again.
"Who's replacing her?"
"Dr. Reeves will be here tonight."
Paxton's fingers moved beneath the blanket.
Only Nicole saw it.
A tiny movement.
A signal of alarm.
She kept her face neutral.
"Who is Dr. Reeves?"
"A private physician who has worked with the family for years."
Paxton's fingers tightened.
Nicole understood.
Dr. Reeves was not safe.
Evelyn walked toward the door.
Then she stopped and turned back.
"One more thing."
"What?"
"Paxton's condition has created unnecessary stress."
Nicole stared at her.
"For whom?"
"Everyone."
"How considerate of you to notice."
Evelyn ignored the sarcasm.
"The board meeting tomorrow will proceed as planned."
Nicole kept her expression blank.
"Why are you telling me?"
"Because after the vote, certain financial matters will become much simpler."
"For you?"
"For the family."
Nicole looked at Paxton.
"Paxton is the family."
Evelyn's eyes hardened.
"Paxton is one member of it."
"Your son."
"A son can make mistakes."
Nicole stood again.
"Was marrying me one of them?"
Evelyn's silence answered.
Nicole stepped closer.
"You should know something."
"What?"
"I don't need your approval to be his wife."
Evelyn's gaze dropped to Nicole's wedding ring.
"We'll see."
Then she left.
The moment the door closed, Paxton opened his eyes.
"Reeves cannot examine me."
Nicole sat beside him.
"Why?"
"He'll know I'm awake."
"Then maybe that's good."
"No."
Paxton's voice was sharper than before.
"He signed the incapacity declaration."
Nicole stared.
"Before you lost consciousness?"
Paxton looked at her.
That answer was worse than any word.
"When did he sign it?"
"Two days before."
Nicole felt the room turn cold.
"How do you know?"
"I saw the draft."
"Why would a doctor sign a declaration before you were incapacitated?"
"Because they needed the board to believe I couldn't vote."
Nicole looked toward the black notebook.
"This was never just about your health."
"No."
"It was about tomorrow."
"Yes."
Nicole paced once across the room.
"Then we make you appear at the meeting."
Paxton shook his head.
"I can't walk."
"Video."
"They control the network."
"Phone call."
"They control the conference line."
Nicole stopped.
"Do they control everything?"
Paxton looked toward the old study wing.
"Not my father."
Nicole followed his gaze.
The study.
No cameras.
Real records.
A dead man's secrets.
"How do I get in?"
"There is a key behind the portrait in the east hall."
"Which portrait?"
"My grandfather."
"There are six portraits of your grandfather."
"The ugly one."
Nicole almost laughed again.
"That narrows it down to five."
Paxton's mouth twitched.
Then the expression disappeared.
"Nicole."
"What?"
"If Reeves gets here before you find the study records, you need to leave."
"I'm not leaving you."
"You have to."
"No."
"Listen to me."
Nicole leaned closer.
"I have been listening to everyone in this house tell me what to do for three days."
Her voice stayed low but hard.
"Your mother told me to prepare for your death."
"Arthur told me to sign a statement blaming myself."
"A nurse had to hide the truth under your mattress."
"And now you are telling me to run."
She shook her head.
"I'm done taking instructions from people who think fear makes me obedient."
Paxton stared at her.
Nicole touched his hand.
"We're leaving together."
A faint sound came from the doorway.
Nicole turned.
No one was there.
But on the floor just beyond the threshold lay a white envelope.
She walked over and picked it up.
No name was written on the front.
Inside was a single torn sheet from the black notebook.
The missing page.
At the top was a typed heading.
HALCYON TRANSITION - REQUIRED SIGNATURES.
Below it were six names.
Evelyn Mercer.
Arthur Vale.
Dr. Nathan Reeves.
Three board members.
And beneath those names, written by hand in red ink, was one additional line.
DO NOT TRUST PAXTON.
Nicole looked toward the bed.
Paxton's eyes were open.
He had read her expression.
"What does it say?"
May you like
Nicole did not answer immediately.
For the first time since he woke, she was not sure whether telling him everything was safe.
