“Gretchen, hurry up and sign the papers because we cannot waste any more time,” my mother said as she walked into the room.
I slid a single sheet of paper onto the table and told them we needed to review a few things first. It was the official patient log from Ocean View Memorial showing that no one had been admitted under our name.
“There is no surgery, there is no doctor, and there is no emergency,” I said firmly.
My mother turned pale and stammered, “You must have checked the wrong records.”
I pulled out another folder containing their maxed-out credit card statements and the final payment notices I had photographed. “I saw these on your laptop when you asked me to help you with your taxes,” I added.
Then I placed my phone in the center of the table and played the audio recording of my mother lying about the doctor and the surgery. When the recording finished, the room went completely silent.
“Using a fake medical emergency to extort money is fraud, not a misunderstanding,” I told them without raising my voice.
Bill slammed his fist on the table and shouted, “Family is family, and we were just asking for your help!”