Chapter 1: The Red Mark
The words died in Marlene’s mouth.
Because Eva’s body suddenly went limp.
Not relaxed—wrong. Completely wrong.
Her small fingers slipped from my shirt. Her head tilted back slightly, and a thin line of foam formed at her lips.
For half a second, my brain refused to understand what I was seeing.
Then everything inside me went cold.
“No—Eva?” I shook her gently. “Eva, look at me.”
Her eyes didn’t focus.
Her skin, moments ago flushed from crying, had turned pale in an unnatural way—like the color was being drained out of her.
Jack rushed back in, phone already in his hand.
“I called 911,” he said, voice shaking. “They said stay on the line.”
“Lay her down,” I snapped.
We moved into the living room. I lowered her onto the couch as carefully as I could, my hands trembling now. Her body jerked again—sharp, violent, not controlled.
A seizure.
My stomach dropped.
I tilted her head to the side, exactly like I had been taught years ago.
“Stay with me, baby,” I whispered. “Stay with me.”
Behind me, Marlene clicked her tongue.
“This is what happens when you spoil children,” she said coldly. “Overreaction and hysteria—”
“Shut up,” Jack said suddenly.
It wasn’t loud.
But it was the first time he had ever said that to his stepmother.
Marlene froze.
Jack stepped closer, looking at Eva on the couch, his face pale and horrified.
“This isn’t normal,” he said quietly.
I didn’t answer.
Because I was staring at something else.
Eva’s lips again.
The foam.
And something darker underneath it.
A sick, sinking realization forming in my chest.
This wasn’t just a seizure.
Something had caused it.
Something had been building.
Days, maybe longer.
I reached for her wrist instinctively—checking pulse, temperature—
and that’s when I saw it.
Tiny bruises.
Not fresh impact bruises like the slap on her cheek.
These were different.
Faint.
Repeated.
Like her body had been under strain for days.
My breath caught.
“Jack,” I said slowly, not taking my eyes off her. “Call the ambulance again. Tell them… possible poisoning.”
Marlene laughed sharply.
“What?”
But I wasn’t looking at her anymore.
I was thinking of the last five nights.
The warm milk.
The way Eva had started getting sleepy earlier than usual.
The way she said she felt “floaty” before bed.
May you like
A chill spread through my body.
Because I had been giving it to her too.
