Chapter 1 - The Invisible Web
The moment the door clicked shut behind Harper, I opened my eyes. The foggy haze of the anesthesia was fading, replaced by the sharp, familiar adrenaline I hadn't felt since my days raiding fraudulent conservatorship firms.
Sarah, the hospital ombudsman, pulled a digital recorder from the pocket of her pristine white coat. She clicked it off and looked at me with a mixture of professional shock and deep respect.
"I've seen greedy relatives, Mrs. Vance," Sarah whispered, stepping closer to my bed. "But that was incredibly bold. She practically gave us a step-by-step itinerary of her fraud."
"Harper has always been bold," I replied, my voice raspy but steady. "And dangerously arrogant. She thinks because I have gray hair and a titanium hip, my brain has turned to mush."
"What's our next move?" Sarah asked, pulling out her notepad. "I can have hospital security escort her out, and we can freeze her out of your medical chart."
"No," I said instantly, sitting up slightly. The incision in my hip burned, but I ignored it. "If we kick her out now, she’ll just find another way. She’ll hire a crooked lawyer, or she’ll try to drain my accounts before we can file an injunction. We don't just want to stop her, Sarah. We want to dismantle her completely."
I reached for the bedside phone. "I need you to contact Detective Miller in the State Financial Crimes unit. Tell him his favorite retired fraud examiner caught a live one. And then, I need you to document in my chart that I am experiencing 'intermittent confusion.' Let Harper think she's winning."
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Sarah smiled, a predatory gleam in her eye. "You're setting a trap."
"I'm building a cage," I corrected. "And Harper is about to walk right in and lock the door herself."
