Chapter 10 - WHAT THEY DID TO HER
Gwen looked smaller in a hospital bed.
That didn’t seem possible.
Tubes ran into her arm.
A heart monitor beeped beside her.
I sat down and held her hand.
A doctor entered.
“Mr. Miller?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Dr. Patel.”
“Is she okay?”
“She’s stable now.”
Now.
I hated that word.
“What happened?”
“Severe dehydration. Malnutrition. Significant anemia.”
I stared at him.
“Malnutrition?”
“She’s been underweight for quite some time.”
“What about the cancer?”
His expression shifted.
“You know?”
“She told me today.”
Dr. Patel pulled up a chair.
“Your wife’s lymphoma responded well to initial treatment. But she missed follow-up appointments.”
“Why?”
“That’s a question for her.”
Gwen opened her eyes.
“David?”
“I’m here.”
Dr. Patel left us alone.
I leaned closer.
“Why did you miss treatment?”
Gwen looked ashamed.
“I couldn’t pay.”
My chest tightened.
“What do you mean?”
“Margaret canceled my insurance payments.”
I stared at her.
“She said there wasn’t enough money.”
Almost a hundred thousand dollars.
Luxury truck.
Diamonds.
Champagne.
And my wife couldn’t pay for follow-up cancer treatment.
“She told me the account was empty,” Gwen whispered. “She said you stopped sending money because you were angry with me.”
I gripped the bedrail.
“Gwen, listen to me. I never stopped.”
She started crying.
“I know that now.”
“How bad did it get?”
She stared at our joined hands.
“When I got weak, Paige said I was lazy.”
I felt sick.
“She made me cook. Clean. Do laundry. She said if I wanted to stay in the house, I had to contribute.”
“That is your house.”
“She said it wasn’t anymore.”
“What?”
“They told me you transferred ownership.”
I closed my eyes.
Another forged document.
“What about your wrist?”
Gwen didn’t answer.
“Did Paige hurt you?”
Silence.
“Did my mother?”
Another tear slipped down her cheek.
“Gwen.”
“She grabbed me sometimes.”
“Who?”
“Both.”
I stood.
“I’m going to kill them.”
“No!”
Gwen grabbed my hand with surprising strength.
“David, no.”
I looked at her.
“They want you angry.”
“What?”
“That’s why they kept pushing me. They said if you ever came home and found out, you’d lose control.”
My anger cooled instantly.
Gwen continued.
“They wanted proof you were violent.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
A woman in a gray suit appeared at the doorway.
“Mr. Miller?”
“Yes?”
“My name is Laura Bell. I’m with hospital social services.”
She looked at Gwen.
“Your wife asked me to contact you about a document she signed last year.”
“What document?”
Gwen shut her eyes.
Laura answered.
“A power of attorney giving Margaret Miller control over major financial and medical decisions.”
I turned to Gwen.
“Why would you sign that?”
She whispered,
May you like
“Because they told me you were dead.”
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