Chapter 5 - THE CONSPIRACY UNVEILED
Before Mia could reach for the door handle, Sterling slammed a heavy hand onto her shoulder and thrust a syringe into her neck. Mia gasped as a icy burning sensation spread through her veins.
"Why...?" she wheezed, her vision blurring as her muscles instantly went limp.
"Do you have any idea how much money the Vance Trust holds?" Sterling whispered, leaning over her as her head fell back against the seat. "Fifty million dollars. Julian gets thirty, Victoria gets ten, and I get ten for making sure the police investigation 'disappears.' You were never supposed to smash that coffin, Mia. You ruined a very profitable funeral."
Mia couldn't move her arms. She couldn't scream. The paralytic was taking over her nervous system—the exact same toxin they used on Emily.
An hour later, Mia’s consciousness flickered in and out. She felt herself being dragged into a damp, metallic-smelling basement. The dim fluorescent light flickered overhead, casting long shadows against concrete walls.
When her eyes finally adjusted, she saw another gurney parked next to hers.
Lying on it, hooked up to a faint heart monitor, was Emily Vance.
Julian and Victoria were standing nearby, watching as Dr. Thorne adjusted an IV drip attached to Emily’s arm.
"Look who joined the party," Victoria sneered, looking down at Mia’s paralyzed body. "The brave little hero."
Julian stepped closer to Mia, pulling a pair of leather gloves onto his hands. "You've been a massive thorn in my side, Mia. But actually, this works out perfectly. A tragic double-loss. A heartbroken maid, overwhelmed by guilt over her 'hallucinated' attempt to save her mistress, takes her own life inside the private clinic. And poor, frail Emily... finally succumbs to her 'heart condition.'"
"Is the press outside?" Dr. Thorne asked nervously, his hands shaking as he held a second syringe meant for Mia.
"The press is waiting for my official statement," Julian said coldly. "In ten minutes, both of these women will be officially dead. No open caskets this time. Immediate cremation."
Mia tried desperately to wiggle her fingers, to scream, to make any sound at all, but her body was a stone prison. Beside her, Emily’s eyes suddenly rolled toward Mia.
Emily wasn't in a coma. She was paralyzed, just like Mia—fully conscious, fully aware that she was about to be murdered.
May you like
A single tear rolled down Emily’s pale cheek.
Dr. Thorne raised the fatal syringe filled with a lethal dose of potassium chloride. "I'm sorry," he whispered, aiming the needle toward Mia's IV line. "I have no choice."
