Chapter 3 - Poisoned Waters
Julian sat inside his cold car across the street from the massive iron gates of his childhood home.
He watched through the rain-streaked windshield as black luxury cars began leaving the estate one by one.
The powerful elites and business associates were all departing, convinced that Arthur Vance was dead.
"I can't fight her through the law," Julian muttered, wiping the condensation off his window.
"She controls the police, the doctors, and the narrative," he realized bitterly.
He needed proof—undeniable, physical evidence that his father was still breathing.
Julian pulled a hidden spare key to the rear service gate from his glove box.
He sneaked out of the car, staying low in the dark shadows of the towering oak trees lining the perimeter.
He bypassed the front entrance and crept along the outer stone wall toward the rear servant entrance.
The heavy iron door unlocked with a faint click, allowing him to slip into the pitch-black garden.
Meanwhile, inside the hidden room, Maria picked up a small glass bottle filled with a clear liquid.
"Do you know what this is, my love?" Maria asked Arthur, twirling the tiny vial between her manicured fingers.
Arthur stared at the glass tube, his heart pounding in terror.
"It's a paralysis agent," Maria explained, her voice as calm as a bedtime story.
"It won't kill you, but it will freeze your vocal cords and muscles for forty-eight hours," she noted with a grin.
"Just in case you get any wild ideas about making noise while my guests leave," she added.
She unclasped a syringe from her case and drew the liquid out of the bottle.
Arthur struggled wildly against his restraints, rattling the heavy metal chair against the concrete floor.
Maria stepped behind him and gripped his jaw with an iron grip.
"Hold still, darling," she purred into his ear.
Suddenly, the heavy wooden door to the main chapel hallway slammed open downstairs.
Footsteps echoed sharply through the cavernous corridor.
Maria froze, her eyes narrowing in anger.
"Who is in here?!" a harsh voice shouted from the hallway below.
It was Marcus, Arthur's loyal chief of security, who had just returned from an urgent assignment abroad.
Maria shoved the syringe into her pocket and quickly locked the hidden wall door behind her.
Julian, hiding behind the tall curtains near the hallway arch, saw Marcus walking toward the main chapel.
"Marcus!" Julian whispered frantically, stepping out from the shadows.
Marcus whipped around, pulling a concealed firearm from his holster.
"Julian? What are you doing here? Maria said you were placed under medical care!" Marcus said in shock.
"Marcus, listen to me very carefully," Julian pleaded, grabbing the guard's jacket.
"My father is alive inside this house right now," Julian said, his eyes filled with desperate truth.
Marcus stared at Julian in complete astonishment, lowering his gun slightly.
Before Marcus could answer, the sharp click of high heels echoed from the grand staircase behind them.
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"How touching," Maria's voice rang out through the hall.
"The grieving son trying to corrupt my most trusted guard," she sneered, stepping into the dim light.
