Chapter 2 - THE POISONED BLOODLINEThe room spun. The harsh fluorescent lights seemed to bleed into streaks of blinding white.
"Arsenic?" I choked out, clutching my chest as pain tore through my side. "I don't... I don't take anything. I only eat what's cooked at home!"
"Precisely," Judith sneered, turning to face Dr. Mercer. "My daughter-in-law has been struggling with severe psychiatric episodes for over a year, Doctor. She’s been self-medicating with unregulated herbal supplements she orders online. She fell down those stairs because she was hallucinating. She attacked me."
"That's a lie!" I screamed, but the exertion sent a spike of agonizing agony through my lungs, causing me to gasp for air. "She pushed me! She pushed me because I found the ledger!"
The moment the word ledger left my mouth, Judith’s arrogant composure cracked. For a fraction of a second, raw terror flashed in her pale eyes.
Richard Sterling, the lawyer, immediately stepped forward. "Mrs. Vance, we are invoking hospital transfer protocols. A private ambulance is waiting outside to move Mrs. Vance to St. Jude’s Private Psychiatric Facility."
"No!" I cried out, looking desperately at Dr. Mercer. "Don't let them take me! If I go with them, I won't survive the night!"
Dr. Mercer stepped between Judith's lawyer and my bed, his frame blocking their path. "This patient is under medical hold. She has active internal trauma and an acute poisoning profile. I am mandatory-reporting this to the State Police."
"You do that," Judith replied coldly, "and your medical license will be revoked by midnight."
Before Dr. Mercer could respond, the room door swung open again. Two state troopers walked in, followed by a woman in a sharp gray trench coat carrying a police badge.
"Dr. Mercer?" the female officer asked, ignoring Judith completely. "I’m Detective Miller, Major Crimes. We received an automated hospital alert regarding a suspected deliberate poisoning and physical assault."
Judith stepped forward, adopting her practiced, polished demeanor. "Officer, there’s been a massive misunderstanding. My name is Judith Vance, and—"
"I know who you are, Mrs. Vance," Detective Miller interrupted smoothly, pulling a pair of steel handcuffs from her belt. "Which is why you should know that ten minutes ago, state police executed a search warrant on your estate based on an anonymous tip received an hour before dinner."
May you like
Judith’s face went dead white. "A warrant? On what grounds?"
Detective Miller looked straight at me, then back at Judith. "On the grounds of an active murder investigation. We found the remains of Arthur Vance—your late husband—exhumed and tested three days ago. And guess what, Mrs. Vance? His bones had the exact same arsenic profile as your daughter-in-law’s blood."
