I named her Margaret Elise.
Maggie.
She was small, furious, and beautiful.
The neonatal team took her for additional support and observation.
I hated the distance between my hospital bed and the NICU.
Samantha waited until I had seen my daughter before mentioning Charles.
“He’s asking to come to the hospital.”
“No.”
“Understood.”
Charles was Maggie’s presumed father under our circumstances, but that
did not mean he had a right to enter my private hospital room against my
wishes.
The hospital handled access according to its policies and the immediate
safety situation.
He sent a message through Samantha.
I DIDN’T MEAN FOR HER TO FALL.
That sentence made my hands shake.
Not I didn’t touch her.
Not Courtney is lying.
I didn’t mean for her to fall.
Samantha preserved it.
I turned my phone face down and went to see my daughter.
PART 7 — THE SIGNATURE
The questioned document went to a forensic document examiner through
counsel.
Samantha warned me not to expect television certainty.
Handwriting analysis had limits.
The notary record mattered too.
So did electronic metadata, emails, drafts, and witness testimony.
The purported authorization had supposedly been signed by me six days
before Mom’s death.
