The path leading from the grand mansion to the guest house was lined with pristine oak trees and white wedding banners, but the beauty of the afternoon was shattered by the sound of Noah’s quiet weeping.
Caleb: Hold on tight to me, buddy. I’m not letting anyone take you away.
Noah: She said the police were going to lock me in a dark room forever, Caleb...
Caleb: She lied to you so you’d run away and keep quiet. But you were brave, Noah. You ran to us.
Maya: Look at the guest house door. It’s wide open.
Caleb kicked the heavy mahogany door open fully, stepping into the air-conditioned living room. On the floor near the stone fireplace, sixty-year-old Charles Sterling lay motionless on his side. A dark pool of blood was spreading across the rug from a deep cut near his temple.
Maya: Charles! Oh Jesus, Charles!
Caleb: Dad! Dad, can you hear me?!
Caleb dropped to his knees beside his father, placing two fingers firmly against Charles’s neck. His pulse was dangerously slow and irregular, his breathing shallow and rattling.
Maya: Is he alive, Caleb? Please tell me he’s alive!
Caleb: He’s barely breathing! Maya, grab those towels from the bathroom! Press them hard against his head!
Maya: I’ve got it! Hold still, Charles, hold still!
Noah: Is Dad going to sleep forever like Mommy did?
Caleb: No, Noah! No way! Dad is going to make it through this!
Victoria stepped into the doorway behind them, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. A cold, arrogant smile played on her lips despite the bloody scene before her.
Victoria: It’s too late, Caleb. Even if the paramedics get here in five minutes, his brain has been deprived of oxygen for too long.
Caleb: What did you give him, Victoria?! Tell me what was in that glass!
Victoria: I have no idea what you're talking about. Charles has been taking his prescribed medication all morning.
Noah: That's a lie! She brought a little blue bottle out from her purse! She put three droppers into his juice!
Victoria: Shut up, you little brat!
Maya: Don't you yell at him! Look on the floor under the armchair, Caleb! There’s a shattered glass bottle!
Caleb leaned under the mahogany armchair, pulling out a small brown glass vial with a torn white label. His eyes narrowed as he read the scientific name printed across the front.
Caleb: Liquid Digitalis... a heavy heart-rate reducer. This isn't prescribed to him, Victoria. This is toxic in large doses!
Victoria: I’ve never seen that bottle in my life. You probably planted it there yourself to cover for your brother!
Caleb: My father’s entire estate was transferred to a joint trust fund last month... a trust fund that gives you eighty percent control if he suffers permanent medical incapacitation!
Victoria: That was a legal document drafted by his personal attorney, Arthur Vance!
Maya: Arthur Vance was fired by Charles three weeks ago! Charles told us at the rehearsal dinner that he discovered missing funds in the family business accounts!
Victoria: Charles was confused! His mind has been failing him for months!
Caleb: His mind was fine until you started poisoning his food every single morning!
Sirens blared in the distance, growing louder as emergency vehicles sped up the long driveway toward the main gates of the Dallas estate.
Victoria: Call them off, Caleb. If you let those paramedics take him to a public hospital, the press will destroy the Sterling family stock by morning.
Caleb: Let it burn! I don't give a damn about the stock! I care about my family!
Victoria: You think you’re so noble, don't you? But if Charles dies today, I inherit the mansion, the company, and full legal guardianship of that boy!
Maya: You will never get your hands on Noah!
Victoria: I’m his legal stepmother, sweetie! The court will hand him right over to me, and there isn't a judge in Texas who will stop it!