Chapter 12 - ROOM THREE
The board restored Garrick by one vote.
His first act as chief executive was to fire Naomi. His second was to revoke the inspection order for Calder House. His third was to announce a temporary leave from public duties so he could care for his “ill wife.”
It was a performance of tenderness built around a locked room.
Fletcher sought an emergency welfare warrant using the photograph. The judge demanded proof of its origin. Garrick's lawyers claimed it had been fabricated by me.
We had hours, not days.
Dr. Park found the opening. A patient in her third trimester could not be confined without obstetric review when sedatives posed fetal risk. She petitioned as Sienna's treating physician, and the court authorized an examination—not a search, not a rescue, but ten private minutes.
At Calder House, Miriam met us in the lobby.
“Sienna does not want her mother,” she said.
“Then she can tell Dr. Park,” Fletcher answered.
Room Three smelled of lavender and antiseptic. Sienna lay beneath a white blanket, her eyes unfocused. Her injured arm had been removed from the sling. Swelling darkened her fingers.
Dr. Park ordered the attendant out.
The moment the door closed, Sienna whispered, “They want me to sign before midnight.”
“What happens at midnight?” I asked.
“The baby's trust activates if Garrick remains chief executive. Miriam says the documents make him sole guardian if I become unstable.”
Dr. Park tested her reflexes. “They've sedated you again.”
Sienna fought to stay awake. “I stopped swallowing the pills. I hide them under my tongue. But they put something in the tea.”
She pulled a damp scrap of paper from beneath the mattress. It listed times, doses, and names of attendants. My daughter had been documenting her captivity while they described her as incapable.
Footsteps approached.
Sienna gripped my wrist. “You cannot choose for me again.”
The words cut deeper than accusation because they were true.
“I know.”
“If you take me now, Garrick will say you kidnapped me. I need to walk out under my own name.”
Dr. Park said her blood pressure was dangerously high. Staying carried real risk.
Sienna understood. She also understood the legal trap.
“Give me until the hearing tomorrow,” she said. “And bring the letter from the lake.”
The door opened. Miriam entered with two attendants.
As we were escorted out, she leaned toward me.
“Your daughter finally learned obedience.”
May you like
Behind her, Sienna lifted the cup of drugged tea to her lips.
Then, looking directly at me, she poured it onto the floor.
