Chapter 8 - Rachel’s Death
Rachel Mercer had died four years earlier.
The official report stated she overdosed on prescription sedatives.
Wade told police she struggled with depression.
Franklin repeated the story.
The case closed quickly.
Now Franklin admitted there had been more.
Two days before Rachel’s death, she called him.
She said Wade had been entering her house without permission.
She said he wanted custody of Tommy because the boy had inherited money from her parents.
She claimed Wade threatened to have her declared unstable.
Franklin told her to contact a lawyer.
Then he called Wade and warned him.
Rachel died forty-eight hours later.
“I gave him time to prepare,” Franklin said.
Detective Marisol Grant stared at him.
“And you never reported the call?”
“I wanted to protect my son.”
Nathan looked toward the staircase.
“You protected him from consequences. You didn’t protect anyone else.”
Police searched Wade’s home.
Inside a locked cabinet beneath the staircase, they found medical records belonging to Rachel.
Several pages had been altered.
Her prescription history showed dosages she had never been prescribed.
Investigators also found guardianship petitions accusing her of hallucinations, paranoia, and neglect.
The language matched Wade’s claims about Tommy.
It also matched the way he described Ava after the attack.
Unstable.
Violent.
Unreliable.
Wade had a pattern.
First, isolate the person.
Then discredit them.
Then use their reactions as proof.
Diane remembered arguments during the engagement.
Whenever she questioned Wade, he called her emotional.
When she disagreed about money, he warned that stress was affecting her memory.
She had thought it was concern.
Now she recognized preparation.
At the hospital, doctors examined Tommy.
He was malnourished and severely anxious.
The bruises were consistent with restraint and forceful gripping.
His medical records claimed he had an aggressive disorder.
The psychiatrist named in the files denied ever treating him.
Someone had forged the diagnosis.
Tommy spoke only to Ava and one child specialist.
He said Wade made him sign papers.
He said Franklin visited once and heard him crying.
He said Diane walked past the locked door twice.
Diane broke when she heard that.
She had heard the noises.
Wade told her the room contained old plumbing.
She had chosen not to investigate because the wedding was close and she did not want another argument.
Her silence had not created the abuse.
But it had allowed it to continue.
Then Tommy revealed what Wade made him sign.
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It was not only custody paperwork.
It was a statement claiming Rachel had abused him before she died.
