Chapter 14 - THE PRESCRIPTION IN RICHARD’S NAME
The false prescription had been filled at a private pharmacy owned by Graham Vale’s brother-in-law.
The security footage no longer existed.
The signature matched Richard’s handwriting almost perfectly.
Vale had access to decades of Richard’s legal documents.
He could reproduce every curve.
Dr. Cole admitted preparing Claire’s medication.
He insisted Vale ordered everything.
Vale denied it.
Each man tried to place the murder on the other.
Detective Ellis found the missing link inside Margaret’s old employee files.
Four years earlier, Victoria had visited Hawthorne House while Claire was still alive.
She entered under her original name, Victoria Cole.
She was Dr. Adrian Cole’s half sister.
Richard felt the room tilt around him.
Victoria Lane had been a false identity.
She did not meet Vale at a charity auction by chance.
She had been connected to Cole all along.
The mansion visitor logs showed Victoria meeting Claire twice.
Emily examined Claire’s final recordings.
A damaged file had no visible image.
Marcus restored the audio.
Claire’s voice spoke first.
“You cannot marry him after I am gone.”
Victoria answered.
“You are already imagining your replacement.”
“I know Adrian brought you here.”
“You know nothing.”
“I know Graham promised you control of the boys’ trust.”
Victoria’s breathing became sharp.
“You think Richard will believe you?”
“He believes documents.”
“So do courts.”
The recording ended with a glass breaking.
Victoria had helped pressure Claire before the poisoning killed her.
She later entered Richard’s life using a new surname and carefully invented history.
Richard remembered every conversation about her childhood.
Every dead relative.
Every reason no one could verify her past.
She had studied grief before approaching him.
Detective Ellis questioned Victoria again.
This time, Richard watched behind one-way glass.
Victoria sat in silence until Ellis placed Claire’s photograph on the table.
“You met her.”
Victoria looked away.
“You knew the triplets before Richard introduced you.”
“No.”
“You knew where Claire kept their medicine.”
Victoria’s face tightened.
“Adrian talked too much.”
“You helped kill her.”
“I did not touch her medication.”
“You knew what Cole and Vale were doing.”
Victoria looked toward the mirror.
She knew Richard stood behind it.
“Claire offered me money to leave.”
“Why?”
“She knew Richard and I had already met.”
Richard froze.
He had encountered Victoria briefly at a medical fundraiser while Claire was alive.
He remembered a woman in a green dress.
They spoke for less than five minutes.
Victoria had built an obsession around that meeting.
She believed Richard’s wealth could free her from Cole and Vale.
When Claire confronted her, Victoria chose the conspiracy.
“Why poison the boys?” Ellis asked.
Victoria’s eyes filled with tears that did not reach her voice.
“Because Richard would never love me while they reminded him of Claire.”
Behind the glass, Richard finally understood.
The trust was not Victoria’s only motive.
May you like
She wanted Claire erased from the house.
The triplets carried Claire’s face everywhere.
