«Dad?» his voice was hoarse, uncertain. «What happened? I remember chest pains and then… nothing.»
The performance was flawless. Even knowing it was an act, I felt a surge of relief at hearing my son’s voice again. «You’ve been in a coma, son. We thought we’d lost you.»
Dr. Peterson entered with a clipboard and a concerned expression. «Mr. Morrison, I need to explain what happened. There was a significant medical error involving patient identification. Your son was never actually deceased. He was in a catatonic state that mimicked death, but our monitoring equipment malfunctioned, and several staff members made critical errors in diagnosis.»
«But we had a funeral,» I said, playing my part.
«I know, and I cannot apologize enough for the trauma this has caused your family. The hospital will cover all costs associated with the error, and we’re conducting a full investigation into how this happened.»
Richard squeezed my hand weakly. «Dad, I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine what you’ve been through.»
«What matters is that you’re alive.» I looked at Dr. Peterson. «When can he go home?»
«A few more days of observation, just to make sure there are no lingering effects from the coma,» Dr. Peterson made notes on his clipboard. «I’ll also need to contact your son’s wife. She should know about his recovery immediately.»
«About that,» I said carefully. «Olivia was arrested this morning. Insurance fraud.»
Richard’s eyes widened in genuine surprise, or a perfect imitation of it. «Arrested? What are you talking about?»
«While you were in your coma, she filed multiple life insurance claims. Apparently, she’d taken out several policies without your knowledge and was trying to collect on them,» I watched Richard’s face carefully. «The FBI says she was working with someone else, a man named Miguel.»
«Miguel? Our gardener?» Richard’s confusion looked absolutely authentic. «Dad, I don’t understand any of this.»
Dr. Peterson cleared his throat. «Perhaps we should let Mr. Morrison rest. This is obviously a lot to process after a traumatic medical event.»
«No, I need to understand what’s happening,» Richard tried to sit up straighter. «Olivia tried to collect life insurance money while I was in a coma?»
«She thought you were dead, son. We all did, because of the hospital’s error. But apparently, she’d been planning this for a long time,» I pulled out my phone and showed him screenshots of Olivia’s social media posts from Cancun. «While I was planning her funeral, she was in Mexico with Miguel, celebrating what she thought was her newfound freedom.»
Richard stared at the photos, his face cycling through shock, hurt, and anger. «She was cheating on me for eight months, according to the FBI. And she was trying to steal money by pretending I was dead.»
«She wasn’t pretending, Richard. As far as she knew, you really were dead. She just didn’t seem very broken up about it,» I put the phone away. «The FBI has evidence that she was planning this long before your medical emergency. She may have even been hoping something would happen to you.»
Richard leaned back against his pillows, looking devastated. «Eight years of marriage, Dad. Eight years. And she was planning to cash in on my death.»
«I’m sorry, son. I know this isn’t what you want to hear while you’re recovering.»
«No, I need to know the truth,» Richard’s voice grew stronger, more resolved. «What happens to her now?»
«Prison, most likely. The fraud charges alone could get her ten years. And if they prove she was conspiring with Miguel to target other men, it could be much longer.»
Dr. Peterson checked his watch. «I should let you both have some privacy. Mr. Morrison, I’ll be back to check on you this evening.»
After the doctor left, Richard and I sat in comfortable silence for several minutes. The performance was over, at least for now. My son was officially alive again, and Olivia was facing the consequences of her betrayal.
«How do you feel?» I asked.
«Free,» he said simply. «For the first time in months, maybe years, I feel completely free.» He looked out the hospital window at the city beyond. «I know I can’t go back to my old life exactly as it was. Too many people know about the medical error, and there will always be questions. But I can start over.»
«What about the Meridian situation? Crawford’s people?»
«Crawford died in prison last week of a heart attack. And his organization fell apart once the FBI arrested the key players. I should be safe now, especially with a new identity and a fresh start.»
«A new identity?»
Richard smiled. «Well, I can’t very well go back to being the Richard Morrison who supposedly died and then came back to life. But Timothy Morrison’s son, Robert, could start a new consulting business in a different state, maybe somewhere warmer than Chicago.»
The idea appealed to me more than I wanted to admit. «Robert Morrison. I like the sound of that.»
«What about you, Dad? Are you ready for a new chapter, too?»
I thought about my empty house, my quiet retirement, and the loneliness that had been my constant companion. Then I thought about the past two weeks, working alongside my son to bring justice to someone who’d wronged our family. It had given me a sense of purpose I hadn’t felt in years.
«Robert Morrison is going to need a business partner,» I said. «Someone with experience and wisdom to help guide a new consulting firm.»
Richard’s smile was radiant. «I was hoping you’d say that.»
Three months later, Robert Morrison Consulting opened its doors in Charlotte, North Carolina. The business cards listed Robert Morrison as CEO and Timothy Morrison as Senior Partner. We specialized in helping companies navigate ethical challenges and fraud prevention—expertise we’d gained through hard experience.
Olivia was sentenced to twelve years in federal prison after pleading guilty to insurance fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering. Miguel was eventually captured in Guatemala and extradited to face charges for running a criminal enterprise that had defrauded at least six families. The insurance companies recovered most of the money Olivia had stolen, though she’d managed to spend nearly $100,000 during her brief taste of freedom.
On the anniversary of Richard’s supposed death, we visited the cemetery where an empty coffin still lay buried under a headstone bearing my son’s name. We brought flowers, not out of morbid humor, but as a reminder of how close we’d come to losing each other forever.
«Do you ever regret it?» Richard asked as we stood beside the grave. «Everything we put Olivia through?»
I thought about the question seriously. «I regret that it came to this. I regret that she made the choices she made. But I don’t regret protecting our family from someone who would have destroyed us both without a second thought.»
Richard nodded. «She had every opportunity to be honest, to work through our problems, to build a real life together. Instead, she chose deception and betrayal. The consequences were her own doing.»
As we walked back to our car, I reflected on how much had changed in one year. I’d lost a son and gained him back. I’d lost a daughter-in-law and gained my freedom from her manipulation. I’d lost my quiet retirement and gained a new purpose, a new business, and most importantly, a deeper relationship with the son I’d almost lost forever.
Olivia had tried to profit from what she thought was Richard’s death, but in the end, his «resurrection» had given us both a new life. Justice, I realized, sometimes comes in the most unexpected forms.
