The silence hanging over the garden was heavy enough to crush bone. The security guard, his hands trembling, stepped forward and handed the sleek black tablet to Adrian. Vivian made a sudden, frantic lunging motion toward the device, her manicured nails reaching out like talons, but Adrian pivoted instantly, throwing his shoulder in her way.

"Leo?" Adrian panicked, scrambling closer. "Leo, buddy, what's wrong?"

The baby wasn't crying anymore. His breath came in small, shallow rattles. His tiny eyelids fluttered wildly, and his legs twitched in Grace's lap.

"He didn't swallow that much water," Grace said, her instincts kicking in immediately. She laid the baby flat across her lap, checking his airway. "He was out of the pool in less than three seconds. This isn't drowning!"

She looked down at the baby’s arm. On the soft skin of Leo's upper arm, just below the sleeve of his wet onesie, was a tiny, angry red puncture mark surrounded by a dark purple bruise.

"Look!" Grace gasped, pointing at the arm. "Mr. Harrington, look at his skin!"

Adrian leaned down, his heart dropping into a bottomless pit. "A needle? No... no, no, no!"

"Vivian held him right before I jumped in," Grace remembered, the horror washing over her in waves. "When she was standing by the stroller before pushing it... she reached inside!"

"She poisoned him," Adrian whispered, the realization hitting him like a freight train. She hadn't just tried to drown the child to frame Grace—the pool was a cover-up. If Leo drowned, no one would perform an autopsy searching for toxins. They would simply assume he choked on pool water.

"Call an ambulance!" Grace screamed at the guards who were running back toward them. "Call an ambulance right now! He's going into shock!"

"There's no time!" Adrian yelled. He scooped Leo up into his arms, but as he moved, he reached down with his free hand and grasped Grace’s wrist, pulling her up with him. "You're coming with me. Move!"

They sprinted through the grand foyer of the Harrington mansion, ignoring the gasping guests and the flashing light of smartphones. Adrian kicked open the front doors, threw Grace and Leo into the back of his armored sedan, and took the wheel himself.

Tires screeched as the heavy vehicle launched out of the gates, roaring down the highway toward the medical center at lethal speeds. In the backseat, Grace pressed her fingers against Leo's tiny neck, feeling his pulse flutter weakly.

"Stay with me, Leo," Grace whispered, tears streaming down her bruised cheek, mixing with the chlorine water in her hair. "Don't you dare close your eyes, little boy. Stay with Grace."