Chapter 11 – The Cousin’s Secret
Detective Sarah Monroe wasted no time.
By early afternoon, she and her partner, Detective Luis Ramirez, were seated across from Victoria Carter in an interview room at police headquarters. The room was small, its gray walls making the silence feel even heavier.
Victoria looked composed, though her tightly clasped hands betrayed her nerves.
"I've already told the officers everything," she said. "I brought Emily a glass of sparkling water. That's all."
Monroe slid a photograph across the table.
It showed Victoria handing Emily a champagne flute just minutes before the confrontation in the hallway.
Victoria's eyes flickered.
"That's not what you just said."
Victoria hesitated.
"I... I forgot."
"You forgot whether you handed your pregnant cousin-in-law champagne or water?"
Ramirez leaned back in his chair.
"That's a pretty important detail."
Victoria swallowed hard.
"It was only one sip."
Monroe opened another folder.
"We reviewed the catering records."
She placed a printed inventory on the table.
"The waitstaff served only sparkling water in stemless glasses."
She tapped the photograph.
"But Emily was holding a champagne flute."
Victoria's face turned pale.
Across town, Ethan sat beside Emily's hospital bed, reading aloud from the baby-name book they had once laughed over together.
Neither of them had the strength to put it away.
Emily stared quietly out the window.
"I keep wondering," she whispered.
"What if I hadn't gone to that gala?"
Ethan squeezed her hand.
"You can't blame yourself."
"But I do."
She closed her eyes.
"I replay every second."
He gently brushed a strand of hair away from her face.
"The only person responsible is the one who hurt you."
Before Emily could answer, Ethan's phone rang.
It was Detective Monroe.
"We've confirmed the drink wasn't served by hospital staff or caterers."
She paused.
"And Victoria has changed her story twice."
Ethan felt his stomach tighten.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying someone intentionally put that glass into Emily's hands."
Back at the station, Monroe pushed one final piece of evidence across the interview table.
It was a bank statement.
A wire transfer.
$250,000
Sent from one of Margaret Carter's private accounts...
...to Victoria Carter.
The payment had been made exactly two days before the gala.
Victoria stared at the document.
Her breathing became uneven.
Monroe spoke quietly.
"Victoria..."
"Tell us what your aunt paid you to do."
A tear rolled down Victoria's cheek.
May you like
Then, for the first time since entering the room...
She broke.
