Daniel did not begin this process.
Gregory Hale did.
PART 3
For most of my life, I had believed betrayal announced itself.
A secret account.
A forged signature.
A whispered conversation behind a closed door.
But sitting in my library with Elena’s letter before me, I began to understand that the most damaging mistakes could begin with something far quieter.
An assumption.
Gregory Hale had been my lawyer for twenty-three years.
He helped negotiate the sale of my first hospital network.
He sat beside me when my father’s estate was divided.
He drafted agreements during my divorce from Vanessa.
He knew the architecture of my life almost as well as I did.
According to Elena, Gregory had contacted Daniel on March twenty-first.
Not the other way around.
Rachel read Elena’s letter aloud.
“Elena states that Mr. Hale requested records concerning Arthur’s medical condition and asked Daniel whether the family had discussed protective oversight.”
