Her mother had her spare key.
Her father still had old banking information from when Mallory helped him refinance.
Her sister knew where the emotional weak spots were because she had been pressing on them since childhood.
Trust is not always a warm thing.
Sometimes trust is simply leaving the door unlocked for people who already know where you keep the cash.
By the eighth day, Ethan had started documenting everything.
He did it quietly, not because he expected a fight, but because he had watched Mallory’s family turn every boundary into an accusation.
He asked the hospital for a copy of the call log.
It showed two answered calls to Mallory’s mother.
It showed one returned call from her father.
It included the intake note under her record: FAMILY NOTIFIED — CONDITION SERIOUS.
Jenna sent him screenshots too.
There was the workplace incident report from 3:17 p.m.
There was the ambulance dispatch record.
