Chapter 9 - THE HOSPITAL
Ethan grabbed the bottle.
He smelled it.
Sarah stopped him.
“Don’t.”
He looked at her.
“Right.”
He set it down.
Then Leo coughed.
Once.
Twice.
His eyelids drooped.
Sarah’s blood turned to ice.
“Ethan.”
He saw it too.
“Leo?”
The baby’s head sagged.
Ethan panicked.
“Leo!”
“Call 911.”
Sarah took the baby and rubbed his back.
“Stay with me, sweetheart.”
Victoria stood at the front door.
For the first time, she looked shocked.
Not guilty.
Shocked.
Sarah noticed.
“Did you already give him something?”
Victoria shook her head.
“No.”
“Tell me!”
“No!”
“Victoria!”
“I didn’t!”
Sirens sounded outside.
Paramedics rushed in.
Within minutes, Leo was on a stretcher.
Ethan climbed into the ambulance.
Sarah tried to follow.
A paramedic stopped her.
“Family only.”
Ethan looked back.
“She’s with us.”
Sarah climbed in.
Victoria remained on the sidewalk.
Alone.
At the hospital, doctors worked quickly.
Ethan paced.
Sarah sat with both hands pressed together so tightly her fingers hurt.
Finally, a physician came out.
“Mr. Carter?”
Ethan stood.
“How is he?”
“Stable.”
Sarah nearly cried from relief.
“We found a sedative in his system again.”
“Again?”
“The level is higher than earlier.”
Ethan covered his mouth.
“How?”
“Did he consume anything after Dr. Mason’s examination?”
“Formula.”
The doctor nodded.
“We’ll need the bottle tested.”
Ethan called the police.
This time there was no hesitation.
Detective Maya Brooks arrived forty minutes later.
She listened without interrupting.
Iron.
Missing video.
Fire.
Sedative.
Planted pills.
Security footage.
Then she asked one question.
“Who prepared Leo’s bottle?”
Sarah answered immediately.
“I did.”
Ethan looked at her.
“When?”
“This morning. I made three and put them in the nursery refrigerator.”
Detective Brooks wrote something down.
“Who had access?”
“Everyone in the house,” Ethan said.
“Staff?”
“Sarah, the cook, housekeeper, Daniel when he’s working.”
“And Victoria?”
“Yes.”
Brooks turned to Sarah.
“You said you saw Victoria holding the bottle.”
“Yes.”
“Did you see her put anything in it?”
“No.”
“Did you see her feed him?”
“No.”
Brooks nodded.
“That matters.”
Sarah understood.
Suspicion wasn’t proof.
Again.
Ethan sat beside her.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“Making you leave.”
“You were trying to protect him.”
“I should’ve trusted you.”
Sarah looked at him.
“No. You should’ve checked facts faster.”
He gave a tired half-smile.
“That sounds like you.”
“I’m still mad.”
“You should be.”
Detective Brooks returned.
“We have an officer at your house. Nobody goes inside until we’re done collecting evidence.”
Ethan nodded.
“Victoria?”
“We’re locating her.”
Sarah looked toward the hospital-room window.
Leo slept under soft lights.
“So she ran?”
Brooks paused.
“Her car was found two miles from your house.”
Ethan stood.
“What?”
“Driver’s door open. Purse inside.”
“Where is she?”
“We don’t know.”
Sarah frowned.
Victoria didn’t strike her as someone who abandoned a designer purse.
“Was there blood?”
“No.”
“Signs of a struggle?”
“Not obvious.”
Ethan’s phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
“Hello?”
Static.
Then Victoria’s voice.
“Ethan.”
He put the phone on speaker.
“Where are you?”
She was crying.
“I didn’t drug Leo.”
“Come to the hospital.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because the person who did it knows you’re blaming me.”
Sarah’s skin prickled.
Ethan stared at the phone.
“What are you talking about?”
May you like
Victoria whispered, “Check Claire’s old room.”
The call ended.
