The ambulance siren wailed as it sped away toward the central hospital.
David insisted that Leo stay behind at the house with the housekeeper.
David: You need to wait here until I call you from the emergency room.
Leo: I want to be with Mom right now!
David: Do not argue with me when I am trying to manage this crisis.
David closed the front door firmly and drove off in his car.
Leo stood alone in the grand hallway while the house felt deathly silent.
He remembered seeing his father acting strangely near the private study earlier.
The young boy walked slowly up the wide wooden staircase toward the room.
The heavy oak door to David's private study was slightly left open.
Leo pushed the heavy door open and stepped inside the quiet workspace.
A thick wooden desk sat in the very center of the room.
Leo walked over and pulled on the top drawer near the right side.
The drawer was locked, but the small brass key sat nearby.
He turned the key in the lock and pulled the drawer wide open.
Inside lay a thick folder filled with official legal legal documents.
Leo picked up the top paper and scanned the printed words carefully.
It was a life insurance policy made out in his mother's name.
The document listed a massive payout in the event of her sudden death.
Beneath the folder sat a tiny glass bottle without any doctor's label.
Leo picked up the small clear bottle with extremely careful fingers.
A tiny droplet of clear liquid rested at the very bottom.
Leo: Why would Dad hide something like this in his private desk?
He wrapped the small glass bottle inside a clean white paper tissue.
He slipped the wrapped bottle carefully into his jacket pocket for safety.
The sound of tires crunching on gravel came from the driveway outside.
Leo quickly locked the desk drawer and stepped back into the hallway.
His heart beat wildly against his chest as he walked downstairs.
The front door opened, and his uncle Richard walked into the foyer.
Richard: Leo, I heard what happened to your mother at home!
Leo: Uncle Richard, something very wrong is happening in this house.
Richard: What do you mean by that, my boy?
Leo: Look at what I just found inside my father's locked study desk.