Chapter 25: The Call Log
Rachel asked Melissa to prepare a call log before the next meeting with the family office.
Melissa had never kept a legal record and worried that her notes would be inadequate.
Rachel told her to distinguish what she remembered directly from what someone else had reported.
They began with the first call from Charles after the charity breakfast.
Melissa remembered his emphasis on privacy and urgency but could not recall every word.
Rachel wrote that down without trying to turn uncertainty into certainty.
They moved to the messages about appointments and the repeated requests for immediate decisions.
Some messages still appeared on Melissa’s phone.
Others were archived in an old messaging account she had nearly forgotten.
Grant helped her locate the backup settings but did not read the conversations himself.
Melissa exported the messages and gave the files to Rachel.
She was surprised how mundane some of the evidence looked.
A reminder about a meeting sat beside a request for a medical update.
A congratulatory note followed a comment about her work schedule.
Individually, none of the messages announced an intention to pressure her.
Together, they showed how the private arrangement and her employment had become entangled.
Rachel reminded her that a pattern was a matter for evidence and careful interpretation.
At the same time, the hospital began sending bills in separate envelopes.
Melissa placed them in a folder marked medical rather than leaving them unopened on Joanne’s table.
She called the billing office and asked which amounts had been submitted to insurance.
The representative explained the process and supplied a written summary.
Melissa learned that one bill was only a notice of pending review, not an immediate demand for payment.
She felt relief mixed with embarrassment at how frightened she had been by its appearance.
Rachel said that confusing bills often distressed patients even when a final amount had not been determined.
They agreed to verify each notice rather than assume the worst.
A later statement, however, did show a disputed balance requiring attention.
Melissa asked the intended parents’ administrator for confirmation that the required claim had been filed.
Holden Price said the office was waiting for authorization.
Melissa asked from whom.
He said he would have to check.
She requested that answer in writing.
The habit felt awkward at first.
Then she remembered how often Charles had relied on undocumented assurances.
She did not want to spend another year arguing about conversations only one person controlled.
