Chapter 5 - The Ambush
Before Dr. Keller could even register the words coming from my mouth, I brought my right foot up with all the force in my body, striking him directly in the center of his chest.
The impact sent the frail doctor flying backward over the velvet armchair, the syringe slipping from his fingers and shattering against the hardwood floor, spilling the amber neurotoxin across the rug.
"What—?!" Maggie screamed, dropping my wrist and stumbling back in sheer terror.
"Arthur! Now!" I shouted.
CRACK.
The heavy mahogany doors of the walk-in closet exploded open. Four tactical operatives in black gear, wearing night-vision goggles and holding submachine guns, flooded into the room.
"FEDERAL AGENTS! DON'T MOVE! ON THE FLOOR! ON THE FLOOR NOW!" Arthur’s voice boomed like thunder through the master suite.
Dr. Keller scrambled across the floor on his hands and knees, trying to reach his medical bag, but a tactical boot slammed down onto his back, pinning him flat against the floor. He let out a sharp, pathetic yelp as steel handcuffs clicked tightly around his wrists.
Maggie stood frozen beside the bed, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water, her face as white as the powder on my cheeks.
"Adrianna?!" Maggie gasped, backing away until her hips hit the windowsill. "This... this is a misunderstanding! I came to check on you! You were sick—"
"Save it, Maggie," I said, stepping out of bed, pulling the fake IV tape from my arm, and standing tall before her in my nightgown.
The heavy double doors of the bedroom opened again.
Whitney walked into the room holding Owen’s hand.
Owen stepped forward, stopping right in front of his grandmother. He looked up into her trembling, terrified face.
"Hello, Grandma," Owen said clearly, his seven-year-old voice echoing through the silent room. "I told Mom."
Maggie looked at the boy as if he were a ghost risen from the grave. Her knees buckled, and she slid down the wall, collapsing onto the floor in a heap of wet mink fur and gold jewelry.
"He... he speaks?" Maggie whimpered, her hands covering her face. "The boy... speaks?"
"He has been speaking for months, Maggie," I said, stepping beside my son and placing my hand on his shoulder. "And his testimony, combined with the video recording from David's SUV, is going to put you, your son, and your crooked doctor in a federal penitentiary for the rest of your natural lives."
Arthur stepped forward, pulling a heavy leather binder from his tactical vest.
"Dr. Anton Keller, Margaret Hale," Arthur read in a flat, official tone. "You are being detained under Title 18 of the United States Code for conspiracy to commit murder, attempted poisoning, human trafficking, and corporate fraud."
"Where is David?!" Maggie shrieked, looking up at Arthur with frantic, bloodshot eyes. "Call my son! Call David!"
I picked up my cell phone from the nightstand, scrolling to David's contact, and hit speakerphone.
It rang three times before David answered, his voice filled with sleepy irritation.
"Mom? Did Keller finish up? Is she secured?"
I held the phone close to my lips.
"David," I said smoothly.
A suffocating silence fell over the phone line. I could hear David’s sudden, sharp intake of breath from his Lake Forest hideout.
"Adrianna...?" David stammered, his confidence instantly evaporating. "Why... why are you on your mother’s phone?"
"Because your mother is currently sitting on my floor in handcuffs, David," I replied, my voice dropping into a lethal, terrifying register. "And Dr. Keller’s poison is soaking into my rug."
"Adrianna, listen to me—" David panicked, his voice rising into a high-pitched squeak.
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"No, David, you listen to me," I interrupted. "You have six hours before the sun comes up. Enjoy your night in Lake Forest. Because tomorrow morning at nine o'clock, when you step into my board of directors meeting... I will be sitting in the Chairman's chair."
I ended the call and tossed the phone onto the bed.
