Chapter 13 - THE FIRST HOSPITALIZATION
The week before Evan’s hospitalization, Mom attended a pharmacy conference in Chicago.
Three nights away.
I had exams.
Todd handled mornings and evenings.
Evan’s controller inhaler should have been used six times.
Electronic dose counter suggested two.
Todd’s caregiver notes did not exist yet.
He was not paid then.
So why miss medication?
Todd later told police:
“I forgot.”
Possible.
Three missed days can happen in chaotic households.
But then his search history.
Severe asthma caregiver benefits.
Medical trust respiratory reimbursement.
Family care coordinator fee.
Home environmental asthma modifications.
Dates:
During Mom’s trip.
Before Evan went to the hospital.
That looked terrible.
Did Todd intentionally withhold medicine to make Evan sicker?
Prosecutors needed more.
So did I.
I wanted certainty because hatred makes certainty feel easy.
Evidence did not.
Then Evan remembered:
“Todd said the brown one was empty.”
Was it?
Pharmacy refill showed a new inhaler picked up two days before Mom left.
By Todd.
Where did it go?
Police search found an unopened inhaler in the locked cabinet.
Lot number matched that refill.
He picked it up.
Did not give it.
Then Todd’s text to a friend:
Sarah’s gone. Kid’s wheezing again. This is going to turn into another hospital drama.
Friend:
Give him the meds.
Todd:
I know.
Another, twenty minutes later:
He’s fine when nobody feeds it.
That sounded like deliberate withholding because he believed symptoms were behavioral.
Not necessarily a plan for benefits.
Then after Evan worsened and went to hospital:
TODD:
Well, now maybe insurance will finally pay for home help.
There.
Opportunity recognized after harm.
Not proof he caused harm for money initially.
But later, once payments began, he continued the same dangerous control.
Then Mom said:
“That matters.”
“What?”
“I need to know whether he started this for money.”
Why?
Because people want one clean reason.
The truth was uglier.
Maybe Todd first withheld medication because he believed Evan was spoiled.
Then discovered medical crises generated money.
Then built a financial system around a pattern he had already created.
Motives can grow.
People can become worse after learning what their cruelty pays.
Then Todd requested a plea discussion through counsel?
Too early. Let's keep legal process ongoing.
He agreed to a formal interview.
His explanation:
He believed Evan was overmedicated.
He had read articles online about dependence on rescue inhalers.
He wanted to reduce “psychological reliance.”
The pulmonologist said controller medication is not a behavioral crutch.
Todd had never discussed reducing it with clinic.
Then:
Did he know care payments increased with severity?
“Yes.”
Did that influence treatment decisions?
“No.”
Did he create Mercer Family Respiratory Services to bill the trust?
“Yes.”
Did he plan to use his construction company for home modifications?
“Yes.”
Did he forge Mom’s signatures?
He said:
“She gave me blanket permission.”
Mom shouted from behind the observation glass.
“No, I did not.”
Did he create James Collins letter?
He stopped.
Then:
“I cleaned it up.”
“What does that mean?”
“James was family.”
“Not Michael’s brother.”
“Close enough.”
There it was.
Facts were flexible if Todd liked the outcome.
Then police asked about me.
Why try to remove Mia from trust oversight?
His answer:
“She hates me.”
True.
“That doesn’t answer.”
“She would sabotage anything I set up.”
Also true.
If the thing was his company billing Evan’s trust.
Then:
“She turns eighteen soon. Once she sees the trust, she’ll think she runs the family.”
No.
But he believed oversight meant control.
The same thing he wanted.
Then Todd said one sentence that shifted everything.
“Michael never wanted Mia in that trust.”
I froze.
How would Todd know what Michael wanted?
May you like
The letter said the opposite.
Continue to the next part: Todd claims Evan’s late father never wanted Mia involved in the medical trust, contradicting the sealed letter Michael left specifically granting her future oversight rights.
