Chapter 10 - The Corrupt Doctor and the Neurology Triumph
On Thursday morning, Arthur and Wendy attempted one final, desperate counter-offensive.
Their defense attorney, a slick corporate lawyer named Gregory Vance, filed an emergency petition in probate court seeking an immediate injunction to declare Eleanor legally incompetent, invalidate her power-of-attorney revocation, and appoint Arthur as her permanent legal guardian.
Attached to the petition was a signed medical affidavit from a private general practitioner, Dr. Julian Mercer, claiming that Eleanor exhibited “severe cognitive decline, memory impairment, and incapacity to manage financial decisions.”
“Who is this Dr. Mercer?” I asked Callahan as we reviewed the petition in his office.
“He is a private practitioner who happens to sit on the board of one of Arthur’s failed medical supply startups,” Callahan said with a cold laugh. “Arthur paid him five thousand dollars under a ‘consultation fee’ two weeks ago. It’s an entirely fabricated evaluation. Dr. Mercer never even performed a formal Mini-Mental State Examination.”
“Then let’s destroy their claim before we even walk into the courtroom,” Eleanor said.
That afternoon, Callahan arranged for Eleanor to undergo a comprehensive, four-hour neurological and cognitive evaluation at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, conducted by Dr. Aris Thorne—the Chief of Neuropsychology and a nationally recognized expert in geriatric cognitive health.
Dr. Thorne administered a battery of rigorous memory, spatial reasoning, financial competency, and executive function tests.
At the conclusion of the four hours, Dr. Thorne walked into the private waiting room holding Eleanor’s complete evaluation report.
“Mr. Callahan, Mr. Sterling,” Dr. Thorne said, smiling broadly. “I have evaluated thousands of seniors in my career. Mrs. Eleanor Sterling has the cognitive processing speed, working memory, and executive clarity of a healthy sixty-year-old. Her mental acuity is in the ninety-eighth percentile for her age demographic.”
Dr. Thorne signed the official certified medical report, stamping it with the seal of the Wexner Medical Center.
“Furthermore,” Dr. Thorne added grimly, “I reviewed the affidavit signed by Dr. Mercer. His claims are medically baseless, fraudulent, and represent a severe breach of medical ethics. I am personally submitting a formal complaint to the State Medical Board of Ohio to have Dr. Mercer’s medical license reviewed for professional misconduct.”
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Eleanor stood up, took the sealed evaluation report, and handed it to Callahan.
“Tomorrow is Friday,” Eleanor said softly. “Let’s go to court.”
