Chapter 6 - DR. PIKE HAD WRITTEN A DIAGNOSIS ELLIOT NEVER RECEIVEDWarren called Dr. Leonard Pike at 7:10 the next morning.
No answer.
At 7:18, Pike’s receptionist called back.
“Dr. Pike is unavailable.”
“I’m Elliot Carter’s father.”
“Yes, Mr. Carter.”
“I want his complete records.”
A pause.
“Those requests go through administration.”
“I’m requesting them now.”
“We need written authorization.”
“You have it on file.”
Another pause.
That pause told Warren something.
“Email everything.”
He ended the call.
Then contacted a pediatric psychologist recommended by Elliot’s school.
Dr. Natalie Greene.
No connection to Monique.
No connection to Pike.
She agreed to see Elliot privately that afternoon.
Before the appointment, Warren received Pike’s records.
Almost two hundred pages.
He expected anxiety.
Grief.
Adjustment problems after remarriage.
Instead, the first diagnosis nearly made him drop the tablet.
Oppositional Defiant Disorder.
Warren stared.
Elliot?
The child who apologized when someone else bumped into him?
The notes described violent tantrums.
Destruction of property.
Threats toward Monique.
Attempts to run away.
One note claimed Elliot pushed Monique down three stairs.
Warren had never heard about that.
He called Irene.
“Did Elliot ever push Monique?”
“What?”
“Down the stairs.”
“Never.”
“Break a mirror?”
“No.”
“Threaten her with scissors?”
Irene went silent.
“Mr. Carter, what are you reading?”
Warren’s anger sharpened.
“His therapy file.”
“That child has never threatened anyone.”
The record contained statements supposedly made by Warren.
Father reports increasing fear of child’s unpredictable aggression.
Warren had never said that.
Another:
Father agrees residential placement may soon become necessary.
Lie.
Another:
Father reports deceased mother had similar emotional instability.
Warren stood.
He couldn’t sit anymore.
They were building a case.
Not only against Elliot.
A case that made Warren appear fully informed.
Dr. Greene reviewed the material.
Then spent ninety minutes with Elliot.
She met Warren afterward.
“I’m not going to diagnose him after one session.”
“Understood.”
“But I can tell you the child I met does not resemble the child described in these notes.”
Warren exhaled.
“What did he tell you?”
“I can’t share every detail without his permission.”
“He’s eight.”
“He still deserves privacy.”
Warren respected her immediately.
“But he gave permission for me to discuss safety.”
“Okay.”
“He reports being locked in a basement on multiple occasions.”
Warren’s jaw tightened.
“Cold showers as punishment.”
He looked down.
“Food being withheld.”
His stomach turned.
“Not for long periods,” Greene clarified. “But he says dinner was sometimes removed if he ‘talked back.’”
Warren closed his eyes.
“And he reports repeated threats that he would be sent away if he told you.”
“Did he mention last Thursday?”
“Yes.”
Warren leaned forward.
“She took him somewhere?”
“To North River Behavioral Residence.”
Warren knew the name now.
He had searched overnight.
Private residential center for children with severe psychiatric and behavioral needs.
Two hours away.
“Why didn’t they admit him?”
“According to Elliot, staff questioned the paperwork.”
Warren handed her Pike’s file.
She skimmed.
Her expression became troubled.
“These records could absolutely support residential placement.”
“That was the plan.”
“Possibly.”
“No.”
Warren’s voice hardened.
“That was the plan.”
Greene looked at him.
“Then you need an attorney and child protective services, not only me.”
“I already have both.”
That morning, Warren’s attorney Daniel Knox had contacted police.
The video alone supported an investigation.
The false therapy notes made it larger.
Then Greene pointed to the bottom of one page.
“Who is Gregory Vale?”
Warren looked.
Records requested by G. Vale, legal representative.
“He used to be my general counsel.”
“Why is he requesting your son’s therapy records?”
Warren had no answer.
Vale had no legal role in the Carter family anymore.
Hadn’t for years.
He called Daniel.
“Find Gregory Vale.”
Daniel called back twenty minutes later.
“You’re not going to like this.”
“Tell me.”
“Vale is outside the country.”
“Where?”
“Cayman Islands.”
Warren laughed once.
“Of course.”
“He serves as director for three holding companies.”
“Connected to Monique?”
“One definitely.”
“Which?”
“MB Family Management.”
Monique Bell.
Warren’s pulse increased.
“What does it own?”
“Real estate. Consulting fees. One unusual asset.”
“What?”
“A minority position in Landon Medical Systems.”
Elliot’s trust held Landon shares too.
“How much?”
“About four percent.”
“That’s not enough to matter.”
“Normally no.”
Daniel paused.
“But Elliot’s trust holds eleven percent.”
Warren sat down.
Together—
fifteen percent.
“What happens at fifteen?”
“Board nomination rights.”
Warren went still.
Daniel continued.
“And there’s an acquisition vote next month.”
Everything shifted.
Monique didn’t simply want Elliot’s money.
She wanted control of his voting rights.
If she became his guardian—
she could potentially direct the trust’s shares.
“What’s the acquisition?”
“Landon is considering a sale to Meridian Health Partners.”
Warren knew Meridian.
Private equity.
Aggressive.
“Value?”
“Six hundred million.”
“And if the sale passes?”
“Shareholders get paid out.”
Warren did the math.
Elliot’s eleven percent could become more than sixty million dollars.
Daniel added:
“There’s one more thing.”
“What?”
“MB Family Management has a side agreement with Meridian.”
Warren’s skin went cold.
“What agreement?”
“If the acquisition closes, Monique’s company receives a consulting success fee.”
“How much?”
“Eight million.”
Warren stared at the wall.
Monique needed Elliot’s vote.
She needed Warren to believe Elliot was unstable.
She needed residential placement.
She needed guardianship control.
And she had been preparing for it since before Amelia died.
Then Warren remembered Amelia’s words:
Monique is connected to someone inside Landon Medical.
He asked Daniel:
“Who introduced Meridian to Landon?”
Keyboard sounds.
Then silence.
“Warren…”
“Who?”
“The chief financial officer.”
“Name.”
“Robert Landon.”
Amelia’s older brother.
Elliot’s uncle.
May you like
Warren closed his eyes.
The betrayal had just entered Amelia’s own family.
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