The Nurse Who Followed Orders
Chapter 05 - The Nurse Who Followed Orders
The private nurse was named Paula Voss.
Police found her at Margaret’s guesthouse shredding medication logs.
She stopped when officers showed her the bedroom recording.
Paula claimed Margaret told her Emma suffered pregnancy-related psychosis and might harm herself.
The locked door was described as protection.
The medication was described as necessary.
The bruises were described as self-inflicted.
Serena asked why the bedroom had no interior key.
Paula looked down.
She admitted holding Emma by the legs when Emma tried to reach the hallway. She admitted administering pills crushed into tea. She admitted writing behavior notes before events occurred.
Margaret dictated the language.
REFUSES CARE.
PARANOID ABOUT FAMILY.
OBSESSED WITH FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS.
LIKELY PATERNITY DELUSION.
The notes were designed to support the incapacity petition.
Paula had not been hired to treat a diagnosis.
She had been hired to manufacture one.
In exchange for cooperation, prosecutors agreed to consider a reduced charge.
Emma listened to the recorded confession from her hospital room.
She did not celebrate.
Paula’s fear of Margaret did not erase the moment she held a pregnant woman against a bed and called it care.
Nathan asked whether Emma wanted him to remain.
She thought for several seconds.
“You can stay. But do not explain your mother to me.”
May you like
He nodded.
For the first time, he understood that understanding Margaret was not the same as repairing what Emma had survived.
