Chapter 3 - The Poison and the Promise
The doctor said I'd been lucky. The substance in the wine was a powerful prescription sedative, dangerous in the wrong circumstances and especially dangerous with certain medications. My small swallow had made me sick. A full glass could have left Elias unable to breathe before anyone understood why.
"We're keeping you here for observation," Dr. Salazar said. "And we need to treat that cut."
"I fell into a shelf," I lied automatically.
Elias stood near the window. His sleeves were rolled up, and a dark stripe of my blood crossed one cuff. "Rafe told me the same thing."
"Funny. Rafe was there to see it."
The doctor glanced between us and stepped outside.
"Tell me the truth," Elias said.
I had used the name Harper Lane to get hired. My birth certificate said Harper Quinn. Telling him everything would blow apart eleven weeks of careful work. But Ben had disappeared, and caution suddenly seemed like a luxury bought by people whose families were safe.
"I saw Mara open a small packet beside your glass," I said. "I went for my phone. Rafe caught me behind the pantry door. He took a swing. My shoulder hit a broken shelf bracket."
"Why didn't you just knock the glass over?"
"I was trying to keep it where a camera could see it. I thought one sip would make her stop saying I was lying." My voice cracked. "I thought it would be enough to make somebody believe me."
He didn't call me brave. He didn't tell me I'd been foolish. He just sat, as if both answers were true and neither helped.
"You shouldn't have had to do that," he said.
A detective named Lena Ortiz entered carrying a clear evidence bag. Inside was a little plastic packet from my apron. I had never seen it before.
"Security says they found this when you collapsed," she said. "It appears to match the medication used in the wine."
"Rafe put it there."
"We haven't established that."
I showed her Ben's message and the bruise left by Rafe's grip. Ortiz read both without changing her expression.
"We'll check the building cameras," she said. "And your brother's last known location."
When she left, Elias asked about the note that had fallen out of my sleeve.
"STUDY. MIDNIGHT. SAFE. What does it mean?"
I stared at the ceiling. "My father left it behind the clock he repaired at your house. I found it this afternoon."
Elias went still. "My grandfather's clock?"
May you like
I nodded.
"Harper," he said slowly, "that clock hasn't worked since the night your father died."
