Chapter 4 - Michael Carter, MD
Michael was a family physician.
Board-certified.
Good reputation.
No criminal record.
Owned a successful concierge medical practice.
The kind where patients paid annual fees for direct access and longer appointments.
He was not a reckless fringe doctor.
That mattered.
People wanted him to be obviously monstrous immediately.
He wasn’t.
He volunteered at a community clinic twice a month.
School parents liked him.
Patients praised him.
Colleagues described him as:
precise.
demanding.
controlled.
The girls’ mother was Rachel Carter.
Thirty-seven.
Architect.
She and Michael had separated eleven months earlier.
Divorce ongoing.
Custody disputed.
The twins spent alternating weeks with each parent under temporary orders.
There had been accusations.
Not physical abuse.
Control.
Rachel said Michael monitored communication excessively.
Michael said Rachel undermined structure.
Rachel said Emma became anxious before returning to his house.
Michael said Rachel encouraged the anxiety.
May you like
Nobody had proven much.
Then two seven-year-olds walked into my station.
