Chapter 10 - The Bracelet That Changed The Past
I burst into the medical suite.
Adrian was sitting by his father’s bed, holding Thomas’s hand.
Thomas looked frail, but the color had returned to his cheeks.
They both looked up as I practically kicked the door open.
“Claire?” Adrian stood up, alarmed. “What’s wrong?”
I didn’t speak. I just walked over and handed him the silver medical alert bracelet.
Adrian looked at it. He read the engraving.
His brow furrowed. “Evelyn Cross? Midazolam allergy?”
“Adrian,” I breathed, trying to keep my voice steady. “If Evelyn was allergic to that drug, she didn’t prepare that syringe eleven years ago. A nurse wouldn’t risk anaphylactic shock just touching a leaking vial.”
Thomas shifted in the bed, his face draining of color.
“No,” Thomas whispered. “I saw her.”
“Did you see her face, Thomas?” I challenged him, stepping closer. “Or did you just see her uniform and assume it was her because you knew she was in the hospital?”
Thomas swallowed hard. “The lights were low. But... she had Evelyn’s hair. Evelyn’s coat.”
Adrian stared at the bracelet, the horrifying truth dawning on him.
“Someone wore Evelyn’s coat to frame her,” Adrian realized. “Someone who wanted my mother dead, but wanted Evelyn to take the blame so you would cast her aside.”
“Who?” Thomas choked out.
Adrian looked at me, his eyes wide.
“Sarah,” Adrian said.
“Sarah was a teenager eleven years ago,” I argued. “She wouldn’t have had access to those drugs.”
“No,” Adrian said, shaking his head slowly. “But Vivienne did.”
The room went dead silent.
Vivienne wasn’t avenging her mother.
Vivienne framed her mother.
“Vivienne was working in the hospital pharmacy as an intern that year,” Adrian said, his voice cold and sharp. “She found out about the affair. She found out she was your bastard daughter, Dad. She wanted Eleanor dead so her mother could marry you. But when you covered it up and dumped Evelyn, Vivienne’s plan backfired.”
It was brilliant. And deeply, deeply evil.
Suddenly, Marcus’s voice crackled over Adrian’s radio.
“Sir! We have a breach at the front gate! A vehicle just rammed the barricade!”
Adrian drew his weapon instantly.
“Lock down this room, Claire,” Adrian ordered. “Do not open this door for anyone but me.”
He bolted into the hallway.
I slammed the heavy medical suite door shut and engaged the deadbolt.
I pushed a heavy medical cart against the door for good measure.
Thomas watched me, terrified.
“Claire,” Thomas wheezed. “I’m sorry. I brought all this death into my house.”
“Save your apologies, Mr. Vale,” I said, checking his IV line. “Just focus on breathing.”
Outside the room, gunfire erupted.
Muffled shouts echoed through the massive estate.
I stood between the door and Thomas, my hands balled into fists.
Then, my phone rang.
It wasn’t a text. It was a video call.
I answered it, my hands shaking.
The screen flickered to life.
It was Vivienne.
She looked unhinged. Her blonde hair was wild, her makeup smeared. She was sitting in the back of a moving car.
“Hello, Claire,” Vivienne smiled. It was a terrifying, empty smile.
“The police are looking for you, Vivienne,” I said, keeping my voice steady.
“The police are busy raiding empty buildings,” Vivienne laughed. “I’m not calling to threaten you, Claire. I’m calling to say thank you.”
I frowned. “For what?”
“For finding the bracelet,” Vivienne said.
My blood ran cold.
“How did you know I found it?” I asked.
“Because I didn’t plant it in your jacket,” Vivienne smirked. “I left it in my mother’s safety deposit box ten years ago.”
If Vivienne didn’t put it in my pocket... who did?
I looked up.
The heavy metal door of the medical suite didn’t open from the outside.
It unlocked from the inside.
Standing by the door, her hand on the deadbolt, was my mother.
She wasn’t in her wheelchair.
She was standing perfectly straight.
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And she was holding a gun.
TITLE: The Mother In The Shadows
