Chapter 2 - The Receipt of Truth
The hospital waiting room was a sterile,
unforgiving place,
lit by fluorescent lights that made everyone look like ghosts.
Justin sat in a corner,
surrounded by his legal team and Alyssa,
whispering in hushed,
urgent tones.
I was seated on a plastic chair across from two detectives who were meticulously recording my every word.
“Ms. Hanson,
your husband says you’ve been under a lot of stress lately,”
Detective Miller said,
his pen hovering over his notebook.
“He says you were unhappy about his mother’s involvement in the company.”
“I was unhappy with her interference,
not her existence,”
I replied,
keeping my voice as flat as possible.
“I am a professional,
Detective;
I don't solve personal problems with toxins.”
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the receipt I had quietly retrieved from the trash.
I flattened it out on the table between us,
the ink slightly faded but still legible.
“This is the receipt from the restaurant in Miami,”
I noted,
pointing to the line items.
The detectives leaned in,
their eyes scanning the text.
“Lobster Bisque - Special Request,”
Miller read aloud.
“What’s the special request?”
“That’s what I wanted to know,”
I said,
my heart beginning to race.
“So I called the restaurant’s kitchen manager while Justin was talking to the doctors.”
I pulled up the call log on my phone,
showing a five-minute conversation with the chef.
“The 'Special Request' wasn't for extra truffle or cream,”
I whispered,
the truth finally starting to take shape.
“It was for the inclusion of a specific brand of highly concentrated almond extract.”
The detectives looked at each other,
confusion clouding their faces.
“Almond extract?
Is she allergic?”
“No,”
I said,
my voice trembling.
“But I am.”
“I have a severe,
life-threatening allergy to almonds and all tree nuts.”
“Justin knows this;
it’s been a part of our medical records for seven years.”
The room went silent as the gravity of my words settled into the air.
The bisque was meant for me.
The rich,
heavy cream was designed to mask the bitter taste of the cyanide-mimicking extract.
If I had eaten even three spoonfuls,
I wouldn't be sitting in this chair;
I would be in a body bag.
Suzanne,
in her rush to humiliate me and prove her dominance,
had literally stolen her own death.
“He tried to kill me,”
I whispered,
more to myself than to the detectives.
“And he tried to do it on our anniversary.”
Suddenly,
I felt a sharp cramp in my abdomen,
a reminder of the tiny life growing inside me.
The fourteen-week-old secret was the only thing that kept me grounded in the nightmare.
Justin didn't just want me gone;
he wanted me gone before I could claim my share of the company through the child.
Detective Miller stood up,
his gaze shifting toward the corner where Justin was laughing quietly at a joke Alyssa had told.
“We’re going to need to speak with the delivery driver and the kitchen staff in Miami,”
he said.
“Ms. Hanson,
I suggest you find a very safe place to stay tonight.”
I nodded,
folding the receipt carefully and tucking it back into my pocket.
May you like
The fire I was currently putting out was the largest of my career.
And the source of the flame was the man I had promised to love forever.
