Chapter 7 - THE POISONED INHERITANCE
Gabriel froze.
He stared at the back of the child’s drawing, his thumb hovering over the word ARSENIC.
“Claire,” Gabriel said, his voice dropping to a terrifying calm. “What is this?”
I grabbed the paper from his hands. My eyes scanned the medical jargon, my heart slamming against my ribs.
“This… this is my mother’s bloodwork,” I stammered, feeling the room spin. “From three months ago. When her condition suddenly worsened.”
Margaret covered her mouth with her trembling hands. “Dear God.”
“The doctors said her cancer had aggressively mutated,” I whispered, tears blurring my vision. “They said her organs were failing. But this… this says she was being poisoned.”
Gabriel’s jaw locked. The muscles in his neck strained against his collar.
“Daniel didn’t just steal the money,” Gabriel said softly.
“He was killing her,” I choked out, a sob tearing from my throat. “He was killing my mother so she could never claim her inheritance.”
Gabriel turned on his heel. “Guards!”
Two men instantly appeared in the doorway.
“Where is my brother?” Gabriel demanded.
“We locked him in the basement holding room, boss, just like you asked.”
“Bring him up. Now. And get the doctor on the phone. We need an immediate transfer for Sarah Bennett to a private, secure facility. Tonight.”
“Yes, boss.”
Gabriel turned back to me. He placed his large, warm hands on my shoulders.
“Claire, look at me.”
I looked up into his dark eyes, terrified and heartbroken.
“She is going to live,” Gabriel swore to me, his voice a low, fierce vow. “I am going to bring the best toxicologists in the world to her bed. Do you understand?”
I nodded, wiping my tears.
“Come with me,” Gabriel said.
We left Leo with Margaret, guarded by four men, and walked down the grand staircase to the main study.
Daniel was thrown into a leather chair in the center of the room. He looked pathetic, stripped of his expensive coat, sweating profusely.
Gabriel walked over to the heavy mahogany desk. He picked up a crystal glass, poured two fingers of whiskey, and slowly walked over to his brother.
He didn’t yell. He didn’t strike him.
Gabriel calmly poured the whiskey over Daniel’s head.
Daniel gasped, sputtering as the alcohol burned his eyes.
“Arsenic, Daniel?” Gabriel asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Daniel froze. He wiped his eyes, looking up in sheer panic. “Gabriel, I—”
“You poisoned our sister.” Gabriel leaned in close. “You hired someone at the hospital to slip arsenic into her IV. Didn’t you?”
Daniel began to sob. “She was going to take everything, Gabe! Fifty million dollars! Dad was going to leave it all to her!”
“So you played God.”
“I protected our legacy!” Daniel screamed.
Gabriel turned away in disgust. “You destroyed it.”
Gabriel looked at me. “Claire, who is your mother’s primary nurse at the clinic?”
I thought for a second. “Nurse Higgins. But she was reassigned last month. A new nurse took over. A private contractor.”
“What was her name?”
“Valerie,” I said. “Valerie Stone.”
Gabriel looked at Daniel.
Daniel’s face had drained of all color entirely.
“Valerie Stone,” Gabriel repeated. He pulled out his phone. “Trace the name Valerie Stone. I want to know who she works for.”
Gabriel waited in silence. The ticking of the grandfather clock in the corner sounded like a bomb counting down.
Ten seconds later, his phone buzzed. He read the text message.
Gabriel looked up, his eyes wide with a shock I hadn’t seen before.
He didn’t look at Daniel. He looked at me.
“Claire,” Gabriel said slowly. “Valerie Stone doesn’t work for Daniel.”
“Then who does she work for?” I asked.
Gabriel turned the phone around so I could see the screen.
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There was a photograph of Valerie Stone, the nurse who had been poisoning my mother.
And standing right next to her in the photo, smiling brightly, was Isabella.
