Chapter 2: The Poison in the Medicine
Chapter 2: The Poison in the Medicine
The echo of Margaret's heels had barely faded before the room collapsed into frantic motion.
"Call Dr. Hayes!" Daniel shouted without looking away from Ava. "Now!"
Rosa stumbled toward the intercom, one trembling hand pressed against her bruised cheek.
"Y-Yes, sir."
Daniel carefully lifted Ava into his arms. She weighed so little now that it frightened him. Six months ago, she had laughed while insisting on walking through the gardens despite the pain in her legs. Now she felt almost weightless, as though every cruel day inside Sterling Manor had stolen another piece of her.
"I'm sorry," Ava whispered weakly.
His heart clenched.
"You have nothing to apologize for."
"I couldn't stop her..."
Daniel brushed a loose strand of hair away from her pale face.
"You don't ever have to fight her alone again."
Within minutes, the private physician assigned to the Sterling family rushed into the study carrying a black leather medical case.
Dr. Samuel Hayes had worked for the family for nearly twenty years. His calm expression disappeared the instant he saw Ava's bruised forehead and overturned wheelchair.
"What happened?"
Daniel answered before anyone else could.
"My mother."
The physician looked between the husband and wife.
"I need everyone except Mr. Kane to step outside."
Rosa hesitated.
"But—"
"Go," Daniel said gently.
Once the door closed, Dr. Hayes immediately examined Ava's pupils, pulse, and blood pressure.
Then he frowned.
"Daniel..."
"What?"
"What medication has Ava been taking?"
Daniel pointed toward the shattered medicine cup.
"The pills Mother said you prescribed."
Dr. Hayes slowly turned his head.
"I never prescribed blue tablets."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Daniel stared at him.
"What did you say?"
"I prescribed white capsules with a silver stripe."
The color drained from Daniel's face.
"What..."
He picked up one of the blue pills from the soaked carpet.
"...is this?"
Dr. Hayes slipped on latex gloves before examining it.
His expression became increasingly troubled.
"I can't identify it by appearance."
"Then test it."
"I will."
"No."
Daniel's voice became dangerously calm.
"You'll test it tonight."
Thirty minutes later, Ava rested in the estate's private medical suite while blood samples were collected.
Daniel never left her side.
She drifted in and out of sleep.
Every time she opened her eyes, he was still there.
Holding her hand.
Watching.
Waiting.
When she finally spoke again, her voice was barely audible.
"I didn't tell you everything."
Daniel leaned closer.
"What happened?"
Ava swallowed.
"The first time... I thought it was an accident."
"What first time?"
"When my wheelchair rolled down the greenhouse steps."
Daniel remembered.
The doctors had blamed faulty brakes.
Margaret had cried harder than anyone.
Insurance investigators had found nothing unusual.
"It wasn't an accident."
Daniel froze.
"I saw someone leaving before the brakes failed."
"Who?"
Ava closed her eyes.
"I only saw the sleeve."
"What sleeve?"
"Navy blue."
Daniel's jaw tightened.
Margaret's favorite color.
Midnight.
The Sterling Manor library.
Daniel unlocked an antique oak cabinet that only three people in the world knew existed.
Inside lay dozens of family documents dating back generations.
Birth certificates.
Property deeds.
Private correspondence.
Confidential trust agreements.
He searched until he found the thick folder bearing his late father Arthur Kane's signature.
His hands stopped.
There was a second envelope.
One he had never seen before.
Across the front, in Arthur's unmistakable handwriting, were eight words.
Only open if Ava is ever in danger.
Daniel's heartbeat thundered inside his ears.
Slowly...
He broke the wax seal.
Inside rested a handwritten letter.
Daniel.
If you are reading this, then I have failed to protect the one person I promised to protect.
You have spent your life believing your mother merely disliked Ava.
That is a lie.
Margaret fears Ava.
Daniel frowned.
Fears her?
He continued reading.
Three years ago I discovered financial transfers hidden inside Sterling Global Shipping.
Someone diverted over four hundred million dollars through shell companies.
I followed the money.
Every trail ended with your mother.
Daniel's breathing stopped.
No.
Impossible.
Arthur continued.
I confronted Margaret privately.
She admitted everything.
She begged me not to expose her.
Then she made one mistake.
She threatened Ava.
Daniel gripped the letter so tightly it crumpled beneath his fingers.
Footsteps echoed behind him.
He spun around.
Rosa stood at the doorway.
"I'm sorry, sir."
"What is it?"
"I remembered something."
She looked terrified.
"The day before Mr. Arthur died..."
Daniel's pulse quickened.
"...Mrs. Margaret ordered every servant to leave the west wing."
"For how long?"
"Almost two hours."
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
"What happened after?"
"When we returned..."
Rosa hesitated.
"...Mr. Arthur was dead."
Everyone had accepted the official explanation.
Massive heart attack.
Natural causes.
No autopsy.
Margaret had insisted it would dishonor her husband's memory.
Daniel suddenly felt sick.
"What else?"
Rosa reached into her apron pocket.
"I was too afraid to give this to anyone."
She placed a tiny silver object on the desk.
A flash drive.
"I found it under Mr. Arthur's desk while cleaning."
Daniel stared at it.
"Why keep it?"
"Mrs. Margaret searched every servant's room for three days afterward."
His blood ran cold.
She had been looking for this.
Downstairs...
In another wing of the mansion...
Margaret sat perfectly composed inside her private sitting room.
There wasn't a trace of panic on her face anymore.
Across from her sat a sharply dressed man in his fifties.
Victor Lang.
The Sterling family's longtime attorney.
"You failed," he said quietly.
Margaret sipped her tea.
"So did you."
"The trust papers weren't signed."
"They don't matter now."
Victor frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Margaret smiled.
The smile sent chills through him.
"Daniel still believes this is about money."
"It isn't?"
"No."
She stood and walked toward the fireplace.
Her reflection shimmered in the dark marble.
"He has finally opened Arthur's letter."
Victor's eyes widened.
"You knew about it?"
"I watched Arthur hide it."
"Then why didn't you destroy it?"
Margaret smiled again.
"Because the letter tells only half the truth."
Victor slowly stood.
"What aren't you telling me?"
Margaret looked into the flames.
"Ava isn't the only heir Arthur protected."
Silence.
Then she spoke the sentence that changed everything.
"There is another child."
Victor stared at her in disbelief.
"What child?"
Margaret's eyes remained fixed on the fire.
"The one Daniel has never known existed."
Outside, thunder rolled across the night sky.
Upstairs, Daniel inserted Arthur's forgotten flash drive into his laptop.
The screen flickered.
A single video file appeared.
May you like
Its timestamp was recorded exactly forty-eight hours before Arthur Kane's death.
Daniel clicked Play.
