Chapter 12 - DOUGLAS HAD TO CHOOSE WHAT KIND OF LAWYER HE WAS
Douglas’s attorney called the fingerprint “meaningless.”
He might have handled the medication for an innocent reason.
That was possible.
Then police found the reason.
Douglas had represented Eric in a private matter involving Miles’s school accommodation plan.
He had been at Eric’s home twice.
Could have touched the spray then.
Again.
Every piece had an alternate explanation.
The case refused to behave like television.
But Douglas had larger problems.
His laptop created the false revocation.
His files contained copied signature images.
He had drafted old related-party agreements.
He witnessed the indemnity.
And now his print was on the medication device.
His firm terminated him from the Mercer matter.
Two days later, Douglas requested a proffer meeting with prosecutors.
Not immunity.
A chance to tell his version.
Naomi called it “the point where the family wall starts developing doors.”
Douglas’s story changed the shape again.
Celeste asked him Monday to prepare a contingency revocation.
“She believed Daniel would give Mara authority over the company if he exposed the foundation.”
She was right.
But Daniel’s real directive predated their conversation by one day.
He had already acted.
Douglas drafted the revocation.
Did not obtain Daniel’s signature.
“I told Celeste it required execution.”
“What happened?” the prosecutor asked later according to Naomi’s summary.
“She said Daniel had already authorized use of his stored signature for family governance documents.”
He had not.
Douglas applied the signature image anyway.
Why?
“Because I had done it for routine consents for years.”
A terrible process became fraud when used for something nonroutine.
Did he know Daniel was unconscious when Victoria uploaded it?
Yes.
Did he tell them to upload?
“No.”
Did he object?
No.
Why?
“I believed Celeste had healthcare authority under the family agreement.”
Negligence.
Possibly more.
Then midazolam.
Douglas admitted touching Eric’s spray months earlier.
Nothing about Thursday.
Then prosecutors showed him text messages.
Eric to Douglas, Thursday 10:42 p.m.:
He is losing it. Celeste wants him calm enough to finish the meeting.
Douglas:
Do not give him anything.
Eric:
Then get back here and manage your client.
Douglas:
I am not your babysitter.
That was important.
Douglas had explicitly told Eric not to medicate Daniel.
It helped Douglas.
It hurt Eric.
Then another message at 11:39.
Eric to Douglas:
Daniel went down. Fix the medical authority before Mara turns this into war.
Douglas replied:
What did you do?
Eric:
Nothing that matters.
Douglas:
Call me.
There it was.
Not confession.
Close enough to make every lawyer in the room sit differently.
At 12:03, Douglas emailed Celeste the draft revocation PDF.
At 12:14, Celeste forwarded it to Victoria.
At 2:17, Victoria uploaded it.
The chart alteration at 1:52 came from the foundation building.
Douglas denied involvement.
Eric had Celeste’s card and car.
The path narrowed.
Detective Ortiz obtained a warrant for Eric’s devices.
Deleted browser history showed searches at 12:47 a.m.:
midazolam detectable blood test
midazolam prescription database
hospital medication history add record colorado
My stomach dropped.
That was ugly.
Then:
how long guest wifi logs retained hospital
He had researched the mechanics.
A search did not prove execution.
But it connected motive to aftermath.
At 1:23, Eric’s phone connected to Mercer Foundation guest Wi-Fi.
At 1:59, disconnected.
He had been there.
The garage Mercedes was likely him.
At 1:51, the fake physician credential was used.
That was enough for police to obtain an arrest warrant on computer-related and evidence-tampering allegations.
Not attempted murder.
Not yet.
Eric turned himself in with counsel.
No dramatic raid.
No hallway tackle.
He denied administering midazolam.
Admitted going to the foundation.
Why?
“To review grant records.”
At 1:00 a.m. after Daniel collapsed.
Unconvincing.
Why alter Daniel’s medication history?
Denied it.
Search history?
Research for understanding what happened.
Again.
Then his lawyer presented a theory.
Daniel took midazolam voluntarily.
I laughed when Naomi told me.
“Why?”
“Eric says Daniel was having an acute panic episode and asked for something to calm down.”
“Daniel says no.”
“Yes.”
“Victoria?”
“Saw no request.”
“Guard?”
“Saw Eric leaning over him.”
“Why would Daniel take his son’s seizure medication?”
“Exactly.”
Weak.
But criminal defense only needed uncertainty.
Then Daniel remembered one more thing.
We were in our kitchen.
He was slowly returning to work emails under medical restrictions.
He suddenly looked up.
“Eric said it was oxygen.”
“What?”
“At the meeting.”
My body went still.
“When you felt dizzy?”
“Yes.”
“Explain.”
“After I said my heart felt wrong, he said his son had some emergency spray.”
“Did he say midazolam?”
“No.”
“What did he call it?”
“Rescue spray.”
“And you thought?”
“I thought maybe nasal oxygen or something.”
“That doesn’t make medical sense.”
“I was dizzy.”
Fair.
“Did he spray you?”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“I think.”
“You think?”
“He held something near my nose.”
“Did you consent?”
“I said, ‘Fine, whatever.’”
That complicated everything.
Eric could argue Daniel agreed to receive something.
Not informed consent to midazolam.
But still.
“Did Victoria see?”
“She was calling security.”
“Did you tell police this?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I just remembered.”
Memory after medical crisis was messy.
We called Ortiz.
She documented it.
Then Daniel said:
“There was someone else.”
“What?”
“Outside the conference room.”
“Who?”
“I saw her before I got dizzy.”
“Celeste?”
He shook his head.
“Foundation controller.”
I knew the woman.
Janice Hall.
Longtime accountant.
The one who processed grants.
“She was there at eleven at night?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Mom called her.”
“For what?”
“Books.”
My stomach tightened.
Janice had never appeared in the meeting attendee list.
Security logs showed her badge had been disabled at 8:00 p.m.
But cameras showed a woman matching her entering through the garage with Celeste at 9:54.
If Janice had been inside, she might have seen the argument.
May you like
More importantly, she might know who actually created the second books.
And until that moment, everyone had assumed Celeste did.
