Chapter 2: The Red Room
Dr. Mercer arrived within twenty minutes, his black medical bag slamming onto the mahogany dining table. The dining room, once decorated with pastel ribbons for a birthday, now resembled a sterile trauma unit.
"Her vitals are stabilizing," Mercer announced after administering a dose of hydroxocobalamin through an IV line. "The poison was diluted. Whoever administered this didn't want an immediate fatality; they wanted an incapacitation. A distraction."
Claire slumped into an armchair, clutching Emma’s tiny hand. "A distraction from what?"
Julian stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, watching the heavy rain lash against the glass. "The safe in my father’s private study. The original codicil to his will was stored there."
Rachel stepped forward, her velvet dress rustling in the tense silence. "Julian, you think I would harm my own niece for money? I loved Arthur like a father, but I am not a killer."
"Arthur wasn't a saint, Rachel," Julian said coldly, turning around. "He built an empire by destroying his rivals, and in his final months, he became paranoid. He believed someone in this house was slowly poisoning him with the exact same chemical found in Emma's cup."
The room went dead silent.
"Arthur died of natural heart failure," Claire whispered, horrified.
"That's what the public report said," Julian countered. "Because if the board knew he was murdered, the company shares would have plummeted. I kept it quiet to protect our family. But tonight, it wasn't about the company. Someone wanted Claire and me downstairs in chaos while they breached the second-floor study."
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Julian turned and sprinted toward the grand staircase, leaving the heavy scent of antiseptic and fear in his wake.
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