Chapter 5 - Poison in the Paper
By 3:00 AM, the estate was surrounded by police cruisers with flashing red and blue lights.
Eleanor was loaded into the back of a patrol car in tears, screaming curses at me and Maria as she was driven away. Parametics had checked Maya; miraculously, her body temperature had recovered, and she was healthy, though I refused to let her out of my arms for even a single second.
In the master study, Arthur sat in his leather armchair, looking ten years older. The betrayal had shattered him.
Uncle Thomas walked back in, wiping rainwater from his forehead. "Julian cleared out his personal bank accounts thirty minutes ago. He had a offshore account ready in the Caymans. He’s on the run, Arthur."
"Let him run," Arthur said quietly, staring at the family portrait hanging above the fireplace—a portrait that included Eleanor and Julian. "He won't get far."
"Arthur," I said softly, sitting across from him while holding Maya. "What did Julian mean earlier when he said you were forgetting things? Has your heart medication been making you feel sick?"
Arthur frowned, pulling a small plastic pill bottle from his pocket. "The doctor prescribed these new blood pressure tablets three months ago. Eleanor always brought them to me every evening with my glass of water."
Thomas took the pill bottle from Arthur’s hand, opening the cap and sniffing the contents. He frowned, pouring one of the white capsules into his palm.
"These aren't blood pressure meds," Thomas said, his detective instincts kicking in instantly. "The imprint code on these pills... this is a heavy-grade neurological suppressant. It causes memory loss, confusion, and eventually leads to heart failure if taken over a long period."
My heart stopped. "They were slowly poisoning him."
"They were making him look incompetent," Thomas explained, his face hardening. "So when the time came to challenge his will, Julian could claim Arthur wasn't in his right mind when he left the company to you, Clara."
Arthur buried his face in his hands, a dry, broken sob tearing from his throat. "I brought them into my house. I gave them my name. And they tried to wipe out my whole bloodline for money."
Maria stepped forward, holding a hot cup of tea for my father. "Mr. Vance... you still have Clara. You still have little Maya. The poison is gone from this house now."
May you like
Arthur looked up, his eyes bloodshot, but a sharp, dangerous flame of determination lit up inside his gaze.
"The poison isn't completely gone, Maria," Arthur said, standing up with renewed strength. "Julian is still out there. And he has the missing copy of my original will."
