Chapter 6 - The Poisoned Cup
The public declaration at the gala sent shockwaves through Bellhaven, but it also backed Dominic’s remaining political enemies into a desperate corner.
Three days after the fundraiser, a dark plot began to move in the shadows.
Rosalind Crane, the bitter former housekeeper who had been fired for shoving Mara, had been approached in secret by Victoria Vance’s disgraced brother, Julian Vance.
Fueled by mutual hatred and revenge, Julian paid Rosalind fifty thousand dollars to secure a key card to the estate’s rear delivery entrance from an unwitting junior staff member.
Their goal was not to attack Dominic directly—Dominic was too heavily guarded.
Their goal was to strike at the heart of the Vescari family: Elias.
On a rainy Thursday afternoon, while Dominic was in Manhattan finalizing a twenty-million-dollar shipping deal, Mara was in the kitchen preparing Elias’s afternoon tea.
She set the teapot on a silver tray, adding two teaspoons of honey and a fresh bran muffin.
Just as she was about to pick up the tray, a junior kitchen assistant named Toby approached her nervously.
"Ms. Ellis," Toby said, sweating slightly. "Marcus needs you in the main security office right away. Something about the rear gate camera feeds."
Mara frowned. "Now? I need to take Mr. Elias his tea."
"I can take it to him, Ms. Ellis," Toby offered quickly, reaching for the tray. "I promise I won't drop it."
Mara hesitated. Something about Toby’s jumpy behavior raised a subtle red flag in her mind. But knowing Marcus might need her, she nodded slowly.
"Alright. Take it straight to the garden pavilion. Don't let it get cold."
Mara turned and walked briskly down the long corridor toward the security center.
When she opened the door to the security room, Marcus was sitting at his desk, casually eating an apple while reviewing monitors.
"Marcus?" Mara asked, confused. "Toby said you needed me regarding the rear gate cameras?"
Marcus stopped chewing, his eyebrows knitting together. "I didn't call for you, Mara. The rear gate cameras are fine."
Mara’s heart plummeted into her stomach.
Toby lied.
A horrific realization washed over her like ice water. She turned on her heel and sprinted back toward the main kitchen as fast as her legs could carry her.
"Mara! What's wrong?!" Marcus shouted, pulling his firearm and running after her.
Mara burst into the kitchen. The silver tray was gone. Toby was nowhere to be seen.
She ran out the side doors into the pouring rain, her shoes slipping on the wet gravel as she raced toward the garden pavilion.
Through the glass windows of the pavilion, she saw Elias sitting at his wooden table. He had his cheap reading glasses on, reaching his hand out toward the steaming mug of tea that had just been placed in front of him.
"MR. ELIAS! DON'T DRINK IT!" Mara screamed at the top of her lungs, throwing open the pavilion door with a violent crash.
Elias froze, his hand hovering an inch from the porcelain cup.
At the same time, Toby—standing in the corner—panicked. He reached into his jacket, pulling a small vial, trying to sprint out the rear exit of the pavilion.
Marcus burst through the front door, slamming Toby into the wooden wall and disarming him in a single fluid motion.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Elias demanded, standing up in shock.
Mara rushed to the table, grabbing the mug of tea and smelling it. Beneath the scent of chamomile and honey was a faint, bitter chemical odor—digitalis poison, a lethal heart-stopping toxin.
"He tried to poison you," Mara gasped, her face pale, her whole body shaking as she looked at Toby pinned against the wall by Marcus.
Toby sobbed in terror. "It wasn't my idea! Mrs. Crane paid me! She said it would just make the old man sick so Mara would get blamed and fired! I didn't know it was poison! I swear!"
Marcus slammed Toby’s head gently against the wall. "Who gave Mrs. Crane the chemical, kid? Talk!"
"Julian Vance!" Toby cried out. "Julian Vance gave her the money!"
Elias looked at the poisoned tea, then at Mara, who was standing over him like a protective lioness, breathing heavily in the rain-soaked doorway.
Slowly, the old man walked over to Mara, taking her trembling hands into his own.
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"You saved my life again, my child," Elias whispered softly, his eyes full of tears.
Mara pulled the old man into a tight hug, holding him close as the rain pounded against the glass above them. "I won't let anyone hurt you, Mr. Elias. Not ever."
