Chapter 11 - The Secret Inside Winslow Transport
Investigators found hidden financial records in Christopher’s office.
Millions had been diverted through shell companies.
Christopher had been stealing from Winslow Transport for years.
Raymond had discovered irregularities shortly before becoming ill.
That was why he changed his will.
That was why Christopher panicked.
If Raymond remained alive long enough to investigate, Christopher faced prison.
So Christopher had tried to turn five days into a death sentence.
Raymond took the news badly.
Not because of the money.
Because Christopher had been family.
“I raised him after his father died,” Raymond told me.
We were back at the hospital.
His voice was stronger now.
“I paid for school. Gave him his first job.”
“You trusted him.”
“Yes.”
“That isn't the same as being responsible for what he did.”
Raymond looked toward the window.
“I should have seen him.”
I thought of my own mistakes.
The people I'd trusted.
The warning signs I'd ignored because survival required me to keep moving.
“Sometimes you don't see betrayal because you're busy loving the person.”
Raymond looked at me.
That sentence changed something between us.
Not romance.
Not yet.
Something quieter.
Recognition.
Two people who understood what it meant to discover that trust could be weaponized.
Raymond began physical therapy.
I remained with him as a caregiver, though increasingly I suspected neither of us knew what that title meant anymore.
Theodore became Raymond’s unofficial therapist.
He crawled across exercise mats while Raymond practiced moving his legs.
When Raymond complained, Theodore laughed.
When Raymond fell, Theodore crawled toward him.
Three weeks later, Raymond walked ten steps without assistance.
The rehabilitation staff applauded.
I cried.
Raymond pretended not to notice.
Then he walked an eleventh step.
Straight toward me.
But just as life began feeling safe, Evelyn arrived with news.
Christopher had offered prosecutors a deal.
And his condition was simple:
He would testify against Dr. Wallace and everyone involved.
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But in exchange, he wanted to tell them something about Raymond.
Something Christopher claimed would destroy Raymond’s reputation forever.
