Chapter 16 - Red Handed
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Audrey closed the bedroom door softly behind her. The only light in the room came from a small bedside lamp, casting long, sinister shadows across the walls.
Sylvia lay in the bed, her eyes wide open, tracking Audrey’s movements with stark terror. She knew what was coming. The routine had changed.
Audrey walked to the side of the bed, setting the silver tray down on the nightstand. She picked up the crystal glass containing the cloudy, crushed barbiturates. She looked down at the paralyzed woman, dropping all pretense of the sweet, caring daughter-in-law.
“You just won't die, will you?” Audrey whispered, her voice trembling with a mixture of rage and sheer panic. “I gave you enough to stop a horse’s heart over the last month, but you’re still breathing. You’re ruining everything.”
Sylvia let out a weak, desperate gasp, trying to turn her head away from the glass.
“Stop fighting it,” Audrey hissed, leaning over the bed, grabbing Sylvia’s chin with a brutal, bruising grip. “Victor is home. My father is waiting. The money is ready. I just need you to drink this, and it will all be over. It won't even hurt. You'll just fall asleep.”
Audrey forced the glass toward Sylvia’s lips. Sylvia clamped her mouth shut, tears streaming down her face, thrashing her head as much as her paralyzed body would allow.
“Open your mouth, you pathetic old bitch!” Audrey snarled, losing her temper entirely. She raised her free hand to pinch Sylvia’s nose closed, forcing her to breathe through her mouth.
Before Audrey’s fingers could touch Sylvia’s face, the heavy oak door of the bedroom was violently kicked open. It slammed against the wall with the force of a gunshot.
Audrey shrieked, dropping the glass. The cloudy poison shattered across the hardwood floor, splashing against the expensive rug.
Victor stood in the doorway.
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He wasn't the loving fiancé. He wasn't the grieving son. He was the head of the Costa syndicate, and the aura of pure, unrestrained violence radiating from him was enough to freeze the air in the room.
“Step away from my mother,” Victor said, his voice dropping into a register so dark and terrifying it barely sounded human.
