When a reporter asked why he had never demanded to open the casket two years ago, he could have blamed Beatrice, the doctors, the sedatives, the shock.

Instead he looked into the camera and said, “Because I was a coward.”

Valerie heard that answer playing on a reporter’s phone in the hallway. It didn’t heal her wounds. But for the first time in two years, the truth was no longer standing alone.

Chapter 7 — Giving Back the Names

The weeks that followed were neither clean nor swift. St. Jude Memorial was placed under federal investigation. Dr. Arthur Keller resigned in disgrace hours before he was served with a subpoena.

Beatrice was removed from every Sterling Group board and charged with fraud, identity tampering, and evidence destruction. She tried to argue she had acted out of concern for Alexander’s mental health, but every wire transfer, every message, every secret payment buried her deeper.

Valerie refused to move back into the Greenwich estate. Alexander asked once, hesitant. “I can set up a secure townhouse for you in the city.”