Chapter 6 - THE RED VIAL
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Julian’s hand moved instinctively toward his right suit pocket. His fingers brushed against something hard, cylindrical, and made of glass.
His heart stopped.
He pulled his hand out. Resting in his shaking palm was the exact amber glass vial from the surveillance photo—half-empty, labeled DIGITALIS TOXIN - SCHEDULE II.
"What... how did this get in here?" Julian gasped, his voice cracking into pure panic. "This wasn't in my coat! She planted it! She had someone plant it on me!"
"Keep your hands where we can see them!" the officer yelled, unclipping his taser. "Drop the object on the ground! Now!"
"Listen to me!" Julian screamed, backing toward the brick wall of a deli. "My wife set me up! She’s sitting right there in that car! She staged the whole thing!"
Elena turned on him like a feral cat. "You kept the vial on you?! You idiot! You said you threw the evidence in the East River on Tuesday!"
"I did throw it away!" Julian yelled back, his sanity unraveling. "Someone put it back in my pocket at the hospital!"
"Turn around and face the wall!" the second officer barked, grabbing Julian’s shoulder and slamming him against the damp brickwork. The amber vial tumbled from Julian’s fingers, shattering across the pavement into a dozen glittering shards, the white residue washing away in the rain.
Handcuffs ratcheted tight around Julian’s wrists with brutal efficiency.
"Elena Ross, you are under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree," the female officer said, pinning Elena’s arms behind her back. Elena screamed bloody murder, thrashing against the hood of the squad car as her mascara ran down her cheeks in filthy black streaks.
Across the street, the town car began to roll forward smoothly.
Victoria didn't watch them get shoved into the back of the cruiser. She rolled her window back up, shutting out the sirens, the rain, and the pathetic screams of the people who had tried to bury her.
"Where to now, Mrs. Vance?" the driver asked softly.
Victoria pulled out her tablet, tapping open the executive organizational chart for Vance Enterprises.
May you like
"The boardroom," Victoria said, her eyes burning like white-hot steel. "The board of directors thinks my funeral is scheduled for Friday. Let’s go show them who really owns the company."
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