Chapter 5 - The Report That Never Happened
Anna read the report five times.
It contained her full name.
Her birth date.
Her old address.
Even the name of the hospital where Lily had been born.
But the rest was fiction.
The report claimed Anna had experienced repeated episodes of paranoia.
It claimed she had difficulty controlling anger.
It suggested she could become impulsive during family conflict.
Rachel watched her.
“This is fake.”
“Yes.”
“How can you prove it?”
Anna looked at the doctor's name.
Dr. Samuel Kerr.
“I call him.”
Dana told her not to contact the doctor directly until they verified the document.
Within two hours, her office had located him.
Samuel Kerr was a retired psychiatrist in Connecticut.
Anna had never lived in Connecticut.
He had never practiced in Illinois.
More importantly, the letterhead on the document belonged to a clinic that had closed six years earlier.
Dana's tone remained measured.
“This is not just inaccurate.”
“It appears fabricated.”
“By whom?”
“That is what we need to establish.”
Anna thought of Eleanor standing on Rachel's porch.
Check your mailbox tomorrow.
“She knew it was coming.”
Dana paused.
“Don't engage with her.”
That afternoon, Mark came to see the girls.
They met at a quiet public park near Rachel's house.
Dana had advised Anna that allowing reasonable contact would show cooperation.
Mark arrived alone.
Olivia noticed immediately.
“Where's Grandma?”
“Home.”
“Good.”
Mark flinched.
Anna sat on a bench thirty feet away while Mark walked with the girls.
Lily eventually relaxed.
Olivia remained stiff.
After twenty minutes, Mark approached Anna.
“Can we talk?”
Anna looked toward the girls.
“They're right there.”
“Good.”
Mark sat at the opposite end of the bench.
“You got the filing.”
“Yes.”
“My lawyer said it was necessary.”
“Did your lawyer also fabricate a psychological report?”
Mark's face changed.
“What?”
Anna watched him carefully.
“You don't know?”
“What report?”
“Don't do this.”
“I honestly don't know what you're talking about.”
Anna took a photo from her phone and held it toward him.
Mark read.
His expression went from confusion to disbelief.
“Where did you get this?”
“It arrived with your petition.”
“That isn't from my attorney.”
“Eleanor told me to check my mailbox.”
Mark looked toward the playground.
His face lost color.
“Mom gave my attorney background documents.”
Anna went still.
“What documents?”
“She said you had some issues after Lily was born.”
Anna stared at him.
“I had postpartum exhaustion.”
“I know.”
“I talked to my doctor twice about not sleeping.”
“I know.”
“And your mother turned that into a psychiatric evaluation?”
“I didn't know she had this.”
“Did you tell your lawyer I was unstable?”
Mark looked down.
“I said you could be emotional.”
Anna laughed quietly.
“You mean human.”
“Anna.”
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
The admission landed softly and brutally.
Mark rubbed his hands together.
“I didn't think they'd use a medical document.”
“A fake medical document.”
“If it's fake, obviously I won't support it.”
“If?”
Mark looked at her.
“Poor choice of words.”
Anna leaned closer.
“Did you know your mother tried to take the girls from school?”
“I told you I didn't.”
“Did you know she forged the letter?”
“I don't know that she forged it.”
“Then who did?”
“I don't know.”
“Did you know she came to Rachel's house yesterday?”
“No.”
“Did you know she threatened me?”
Mark stood.
“She threatened you?”
“She told me I was weak.”
“She said marrying me was your biggest mistake.”
“That's not a threat.”
Anna smiled sadly.
“You're still doing it.”
“Doing what?”
“Finding the smallest possible definition of wrong so your mother can stay outside it.”
Mark did not answer.
Olivia approached.
“Dad?”
“Yes?”
“Can we go back now?”
Mark looked surprised.
“We just got here.”
“I want to go.”
“Why?”
Olivia shrugged.
Mark crouched.
“Are you mad at me?”
She looked at him.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Olivia's eyes filled.
“You keep asking like you weren't there.”
Mark stopped.
Olivia turned toward Anna.
“I want Aunt Rachel.”
Anna stood.
“Okay.”
Mark watched them walk away.
Before Anna reached the parking lot, he called her name.
“Anna.”
She turned.
“I'll talk to Mom about the report.”
Anna shook her head.
“You need to decide whether you're investigating your mother or protecting her.”
“You can't keep doing both.”
That night, Mark called again.
Anna almost ignored it.
Then she answered.
His voice sounded different.
“I asked Mom about the report.”
“And?”
“She said Dad arranged it.”
“Your father?”
“She says he was worried about you.”
Anna's anger sharpened.
“Frank adored me.”
“I know.”
“He lived with us for four months while he was sick.”
“I know.”
“He never once suggested I was unstable.”
Mark swallowed.
“I know.”
“So do you believe her?”
“No.”
The single word surprised Anna.
“What did she say when you challenged her?”
“She told me I was choosing you over family.”
Anna closed her eyes.
“That sounds familiar.”
“There was something else.”
“What?”
“I went through Dad's old office.”
Anna waited.
“I found a box of financial records.”
“What kind?”
“I don't know yet.”
“Why are you telling me?”
“Because your name is on one of the folders.”
Anna sat down.
“My name?”
“Yes.”
“What does it say?”
“Just ‘Anna.’”
“Open it.”
“I did.”
Mark went silent.
Anna's heart began pounding.
“What was inside?”
“A letter Dad wrote about six months before he died.”
“What letter?”
“He addressed it to me.”
Anna waited.
May you like
Mark's voice became quieter.
“He said if anything happened to him, I was supposed to tell you the truth about Mom.”
