Chapter 12 - JAMES COLLINS DID NOT EXIST
Michael Collins had one sister.
Rachel.
No brother.
Birth records confirmed.
No James.
So who submitted the referral?
The form appeared six months earlier.
Exactly after Evan’s severe hospitalization.
Email:
Phone:
Prepaid.
Supporting letter:
As family representative, I recommend Todd Mercer as the most appropriate in home caregiver.
Signature:
James Collins.
No legal authority attached.
Why did the trust accept it?
They did not rely on it alone.
Mom separately approved Todd as caregiver.
That was enough.
The fake family representative letter simply made him look more established.
Who needed that?
Maybe Todd.
He denied creating James.
His lawyer said nothing.
Then metadata.
PDF author:
MFRS Admin.
Mercer Family Respiratory Services.
Todd’s company.
Created two months before the company was formally registered.
That was strange.
Maybe he was using the name before filing.
Then IP.
A public library.
No identification.
Then the letter included information Todd should not have known at the time.
A trust clause number.
Section 8.4:
Family Care Coordinator.
Todd claimed he learned about that clause later.
If the James letter was his, he knew earlier.
Then Mom remembered something.
After Michael died, his sister Rachel asked to stay informed about Evan’s trust.
She and Mom later fought.
Why?
Rachel believed Mom spent too much of her own money supporting me and Evan after Michael’s death.
Not trust money.
Family tension.
They stopped speaking.
Could Rachel have submitted?
She denied.
She also confirmed Michael had no brother.
Then Rachel said:
“Michael had a cousin named James.”
There.
Not brother.
James Collins.
Distant cousin.
Accountant.
Alive.
Texas.
Did he call himself brother?
No.
Did he know Evan?
Barely.
Had Todd contacted him?
James answered through counsel.
Yes.
Eight months earlier.
Todd found him through social media.
Asked questions about Michael’s family and trust.
James said Todd told him:
“Sarah wants me to understand the family structures.”
He discussed general background.
Did he sign referral?
“No.”
Signature?
Copied from a genealogy affidavit James sent Todd confirming family history.
Again.
Todd had taken a real James Collins and transformed cousin into brother and family representative.
No imaginary person needed.
Just altered context.
Then why contact him before Evan’s hospitalization?
Todd was researching the trust earlier than everyone thought.
How much earlier?
Eight months.
What happened eight months ago?
Todd’s construction company lost its largest contract.
Financial trouble began.
He started looking for alternative income.
Then Evan’s hospitalization six months ago opened a legitimate caregiver benefit.
Opportunity.
Todd moved fast.
Then James provided his old messages.
TODD:
Does Michael’s trust allow paid family management?
JAMES:
I have no idea.
TODD:
Who would?
JAMES:
Trustee.
TODD:
Sarah hates paperwork. Trying to help.
That phrase.
Trying to help.
Then:
TODD:
Any provisions for home improvements?
James:
Todd, I really don’t know.
Todd was exploring revenue before he ever enrolled.
The story became financial planning first.
Medical abuse later.
But then one message from Todd changed everything.
Two weeks before Evan’s hospitalization:
TODD:
If his asthma gets classified severe persistent, benefits expand, right?
James did not answer.
Todd already knew severity mattered.
Where did he learn?
Katherine’s educational materials?
Insurance website?
Maybe.
Then another:
TODD:
He’s borderline now.
How would Todd know that clinical term?
He had been reading Evan’s records.
With Mom’s portal password.
Again.
The same access issue.
Then the hospital physician found something in Evan’s previous records.
His severe hospitalization six months ago began after he missed several controller doses.
Who supervised that week?
May you like
Todd.
Continue to the next part: Records show Evan’s first major hospitalization also followed a week when Todd was responsible for his daily controller medication.
