Chapter 8 - The Shadow in the Mirror
I crept toward the cracked door, holding my breath, my shoes silent on the thick hallway runner.
Inside the studio, sheets covered easels and sculptures like white ghosts. Standing near the center of the room, illuminated by a single floor lamp, was Victoria. She was opening a wall safe hidden behind a massive portrait of Eleanor.
Standing opposite her was Julian. He looked completely shattered, holding a stack of legal documents in his trembling hands.
"She would have wanted this, Julian," Victoria’s voice was a soothing, venomous whisper. "Look at what they’ve done to the house. Look at how unstable they are. The media is starting to ask questions. If you sign the institutionalization papers, they can be moved to the private clinic in Switzerland quietly. They’ll get the help they need."
"They're six years old, Victoria," Julian gasped, his voice cracking with unbearable pain. "They're just boys..."
"They are damaged goods, Julian!" Victoria hissed, her voice dropping the sweet act entirely. "They have Eleanor’s madness! Do you want them to end up like her? Do you want to wait until they burn this house down with you inside it? Sign the trustee transfer. Let me handle the clinic."
"He's not signing anything," I said, kicking the double oak doors wide open.
The wood slammed against the walls, echoing like a gunshot through the silent West Wing. Victoria spun around, her eyes widening in shock, while Julian dropped the papers, staring at me as if I had dropped from the sky.
"Maya?" Julian blinked. "What are you doing up?"
"Saving your sons from a monster," I said, stepping into the room and hurling the folded lab report directly at Julian’s chest. "Read it. That 'herbal tea' your dear sister-in-law has been feeding your boys for six months isn't chamomile. It’s a cocktail of heavy military-grade sedatives designed to induce psychosis and violent rage."
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Victoria's face turned completely white, then snapped into a mask of pure fury. "She's lying! She's a street girl, a foster rat looking for a payout! Julian, call security!"
"Read the lab header, Mr. Whitaker!" I yelled, stepping closer to him. "Check the signatures from the board-certified toxicologist! She’s been poisoning Tommy, Danny, and Bobby so you would think they were insane! So you would sign them away to a Swiss asylum before their seventh birthday and give her complete control of Eleanor’s billions!"
