Chapter 7 - THE DOCTOR'S CONFESSION
Police located Dr. Lawson at a motel outside the city.
He was packing.
Two suitcases sat beside the door.
A passport rested on the bed.
He didn’t resist arrest.
He only asked one question.
“Is Claire Parker alive?”
When Detective Bennett said yes, Lawson sat down.
“Then Richard failed.”
Bennett placed a recorder on the table.
“Tell me everything.”
Lawson began talking.
He admitted signing false medical documents for Claire.
Richard had paid him fifty thousand dollars.
Victor Cole had arranged the payment.
Lawson claimed he never knew Claire would be buried alive.
“They told me she would be taken somewhere else.”
Bennett stared at him.
“You signed paperwork saying a living woman was dead.”
Lawson looked down.
“I know.”
Then Bennett asked about Samuel Parker.
Lawson stopped speaking.
That silence answered more than words could.
“You signed his death certificate too.”
Lawson’s shoulders dropped.
“I didn’t hurt Samuel.”
“But you lied about how he died.”
Lawson nodded.
He explained that Samuel collapsed during a meeting with Rebecca.
By the time Lawson arrived, Samuel was already unresponsive.
Rebecca told Lawson exactly what to write.
Natural causes.
No autopsy.
No questions.
“She threatened my family.”
“Who else was there?”
Lawson hesitated.
“Cole.”
“And the Architect?”
Lawson looked up sharply.
Bennett knew she had struck something.
“You know who that is.”
“I never met them.”
“But?”
Lawson rubbed his hands together.
“I heard the name once.”
“What name?”
Before he could answer, the motel lights went out.
The room became dark.
Officers shouted in the hallway.
Bennett pulled Ethan behind a wall.
A crash sounded outside.
Then the emergency lights came on.
Lawson stared toward the window.
It was open.
Someone had thrown something into the room.
A small phone.
The screen lit up.
One message appeared.
TALK AND YOUR FAMILY PAYS.
Lawson went white.
Bennett picked up the phone.
“Who knows you’re here?”
“No one.”
“Someone does.”
Lawson looked toward Ethan.
Then toward Claire.
Finally, he spoke.
“The only name I ever heard was Morgan.”
Bennett froze.
Claire noticed.
“You know that name.”
Bennett slowly nodded.
“Judge Evelyn Morgan.”
Ethan frowned.
“Why would a judge be involved?”
May you like
Bennett’s answer came quietly.
“Because she approved the emergency transfer of your mother’s estate twelve hours after Claire was declared dead.”
