PART5-My Son Told Me to Stop Coming to His House Because His Wife “Needed Privacy”—So I Left His $612-a-Month SUV Renewal Unsigned

PART 5

The words “your family’s vehicle records” made me stop with one hand still resting on the dealership door.

I turned around.

Grady was watching me.

Kelsey was watching Grady.

And suddenly, nobody in that showroom seemed interested in the SUV anymore.

“Who is this?” I asked.

“My name is Melissa Grant. I’m a patient services coordinator at St. Matthew Medical Center.”

I looked at the white sedan visible through the dealership windows in my memory.

“Why are you calling me?”

“There appears to be some confusion regarding an emergency contact.”

“For Dr. Nathan Ellis?”

“Yes.”

My fingers tightened around my phone.

“I don’t know Dr. Ellis.”

There was a pause.

“That’s what concerns us.”

I glanced at Grady.

He had gone completely pale.

Kelsey whispered, “What’s wrong?”

I covered the phone.

“Both of you stay here.”

Grady stood.

“Mom—”

I raised my hand.

“Not one word.”

Then I stepped outside.

The dealership doors closed behind me.

The September air was cool against my face, but I barely noticed.

“Ms. Grant,” I said, “please tell me exactly what you can tell me.”

“I need to be careful because of privacy regulations. But Dr. Ellis listed a vehicle associated with your name as one of his emergency transportation contacts.”

“My name?”

“Yes.”

“What vehicle?”

She gave me the plate number.

It was my SUV.

The same SUV sitting thirty feet away from me.

I closed my eyes.

“Is Dr. Ellis a patient there?”

“Yes.”

“Is he currently there?”

Another pause.

“He was admitted yesterday.”

My stomach tightened.

“Is he okay?”

“He’s stable.”

I exhaled.

“Then why are you calling me?”

“Because he specifically asked us to contact you if his condition changed.”

“Why would a stranger do that?”

“We don’t know.”

I looked through the glass.

Grady was arguing with Kelsey now.

Neither could see me clearly.

“Did he tell you who I am?”

“Yes.”

“What did he say?”

Melissa hesitated.

“He said you were the only person who might believe him.”

My breath caught.

“Believe him about what?”

“I can’t discuss his medical situation over the phone.”

“I understand.”

“But there is one thing I can tell you.”

“What?”

“He gave us your full name.”

She paused.

“Then he said something unusual.”

“What?”

“He said, ‘Karen Whitlow doesn’t know me yet. But she will.’”

The call ended.

I stood in the parking lot staring at nothing.

When I returned inside, Grady immediately approached.

“Mom, what did they want?”

I looked at him.

“Who is Nathan Ellis?”

“I told you. I don’t know.”

“Then why did you look terrified when I mentioned his name?”

“I wasn’t terrified.”

“You were.”

Kelsey stepped between us.

“Karen, this is getting ridiculous.”

I looked at her.

“Was Nathan Ellis at your townhouse?”

Her face changed.

Only slightly.

But I saw it.

Grady saw it too.

“What?” he asked.

Kelsey shook her head.

“No.”

“Mom didn’t say he was.”

“I know.”

“Then why did you react like that?”

“I didn’t.”

Grady stared at her.

“Kelsey.”

She crossed her arms.

“I don’t know who that man is.”

I watched them both.

Then I asked the question I had been avoiding.

“Who was in the white sedan?”

Neither answered.

I repeated it.

“The white sedan parked outside your townhouse.”

Kelsey looked at Grady.

Grady looked at the floor.

And suddenly I understood something.

The mysterious car wasn’t a mystery to them.

It was a mystery to me.

That distinction mattered.

“Grady,” I said quietly.

He finally looked up.

“Who was in the house?”

His lips parted.

Nothing came out.

Kelsey whispered, “Nobody.”

I turned to her.

“You said nobody?”

“Yes.”

“Then why has that hospital parking tag been hanging in the same car outside your home for two mornings?”

Her expression hardened.

“You’re driving past our house?”

“I was driving on the street.”

“You said you weren’t coming over.”

“I didn’t.”

“You were watching us.”

“No.”

She laughed bitterly.

“Then what were you doing?”

“Wondering why my son told me to stay away while a stranger’s car appeared at his house every morning.”

CONTINUE READING PART6…