Chapter 24
Chapter 24: The Final Strategy
Janet’s health began to decline rapidly in the winter of 2026. Because she had no money and Sabrina refused to care for her, the state placed her in a low-income, government-funded nursing home.
It was a bleak, depressing place—the absolute antithesis of the luxurious life she had envisioned for her golden years.
I received a call from her court-appointed guardian. "Ms. Davis, your mother is in the final stages of renal failure. She is lucid, and she is requesting your presence. She claims there is a matter of inheritance that needs to be settled."
"Inheritance?" I asked, skeptical. "The court liquidated all her assets to pay back the restitution to my daughter."
"She insists there is something left," the guardian replied.
Intrigued and cautious, I asked Marcus to accompany me. We drove to the medical facility on a rainy Thursday afternoon. The smell of antiseptic and old food hung heavy in the air.
Janet lay in a narrow bed, hooked up to a dialysis machine. When she saw me walk in with a lawyer, a flicker of her old, manipulative spark appeared in her eyes.
"Claire," she whispered, coughing. "You came. Good. I have something for you."
She reached under her pillow and pulled out a worn, leather-bound notebook. "This is Robert’s old ledger. Before the feds seized the warehouse, I hid it. It contains the names of three local politicians and two bank managers who took bribes from Robert’s company over the last decade."
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Marcus and I exchanged a sharp look.
"I'll give it to you," Janet wheezed, a desperate, greedy smile stretching across her face. "You can use it to destroy Robert's old enemies. You can sell it to the press. In exchange, all I want is for you to move me to a private room. Get me out of this dump, Claire. Let me die with some dignity."
