Chapter 11 - The Stolen Drops
The absolute horror of Elena's confession settled over Daniel like a suffocating, heavy blanket of ice. He stared at the frail, sleeping form of his mother, realizing that the woman he had sworn to love and cherish was actively orchestrating her slow, agonizing demise.
"I need proof, Elena,"
Daniel said, his voice dropping to a dangerous, deadly calm.
"If I go to the police right now with just a story about unmarked vials, Clara will hire the best defense lawyers in the state. She will claim you are a disgruntled employee. She will hide the evidence, and she will make sure we never see my mother again."
"What are we going to do?"
Elena asked, wiping her tear-stained cheeks.
"Tomorrow afternoon, when Clara goes to her weekly country club luncheon, I need you to leave the side door unlocked,"
Daniel instructed.
"I am going to come home early. I am going to break into that metal box, and I am going to steal exactly one vial. Then, we are going to find out exactly what she is putting in that tea."
The next day moved with agonizing slowness. Daniel sat at his massive office desk, staring blindly at complex financial reports, his mind entirely consumed by the dangerous mission ahead. At precisely 1:00 PM, his phone buzzed. It was a simple, one-word text message from Elena.
May you like
Clear.
Daniel left the office immediately, speeding through the city streets. He parked his car a block away from his own estate and slipped through the unlocked side door. The house was eerily quiet. He moved silently up the stairs and entered his mother’s room. Elena handed him a heavy steel crowbar she had taken from the garden shed. With one sharp, violent twist, the lock on the metal box snapped. Inside sat five identical, unmarked glass vials filled with a clear, odorless liquid. Daniel took one, slipped it into his jacket pocket, and closed the broken box. The trap was officially set.
