The dark blue color spread across the broken pieces of frosting on the floor, getting darker by the second. The sweet smell of sugar and raspberry jam was completely gone, replaced by a stinging chemical scent that made Jason's eyes water. Several party guests pulled their collars over their noses and moved away toward the back of the room. Nobody moved toward the food anymore as the reality of the situation began to set in for everyone present.
Jason: The smell... it really smells like harsh floor cleaner. I thought it was just the cleaning staff earlier today!
Lily: It wasn't the cleaning staff! It was the chemical she dumped into the mixing bowl!
Chloe: Jason, please, don't believe her! Your sister has hated me since the first day we started dating!
Jason: She never hated you, Chloe! She welcomed you into our family mansion! She helped you get a job at the firm!
Lily: And this is how she repays us! By trying to turn you into a corpse so she can collect your trust fund!
Chloe: I don't care about his money! I have my own money!
Lily: Your own money?! Your father's real estate business went into bankruptcy last week! You're two million dollars in debt!
Jason: What?! Chloe, you told me your father's business was expanding across the state!
Chloe: It was expanding! We just had a temporary cash flow problem with the mortgage loans!
Lily: A temporary cash flow problem?! The bank filed foreclosure papers on your parents' penthouse three days ago!
Jason: Is this true, Chloe? Did you lie to me about your family's net worth this whole time?
Chloe: I didn't lie! I just wanted to protect my family's dignity! I was going to pay back whatever I borrowed!
Jason: Pay back whatever you borrowed?! You were going to pay it back using my life insurance payout after killing me!
Chloe: No! That's not true! I would never want you dead, Jason!
Lily: Then why did you ask the insurance broker if the policy pays out immediately in the event of an accidental cardiac failure?!
Jason: You asked the broker that exact question?!
Lily: I have the text messages, Jason! The broker sent me a copy of the email inquiry she sent from her personal account!
Lily tapped her phone screen again, bringing up a chain of sent messages. The email showed Chloe's full name, private address, and formal signature attached to questions about fast payouts for unexpected medical events.
Jason: Unbelievable... You planned my murder down to the exact day!
Chloe: Jason, please... it was just a hypothetical question! I was doing financial research for our future prenup agreement!
Jason: Don't speak about our future! There is no future! There is no wedding, no engagement, no nothing!
Lily: Show him the purse, Chloe. Open your designer bag right now and show us what's inside the side pocket!
Chloe: Get away from my purse! You have no right to search my private property!
Jason: Give me the bag, Chloe.
Chloe: No, Jason! You are crossing a line right now!
Jason stepped over the ruined cake on the floor and reached for the expensive handbag rest on the empty chair. Chloe gasped and swung her arm to grab it first, but Jason moved quicker and snatched it from her grip. He held the bag firmly in his hands while Chloe backed up against the fireplace mantle, her breath coming in quick, shallow hitches.
Jason: Unzip it, Lily.
Lily: Gladly.
Lily pulled the silver zipper back with a sharp slide. She reached deep into the main compartment, pulling out a dark brown glass bottle fitted with a rubber dropper top. The label matched the container from the kitchen recording, complete with the clear skull and crossbones icon printed across the front. The room went silent as everyone saw the proof right in front of them.
Jason: Look at this bottle, Chloe. Tell me to my face right now that this is vanilla extract!
Chloe: I... I didn't know what was in that bottle! A woman in the parking lot sold it to me as a sleep aid!
Lily: A sleep aid that you decided to pour into his birthday cake?! Listen to how ridiculous you sound!
Jason: How could you do this to me?! I trusted you! I loved you!