Chapter 3: The Snake in the Suite
The betrayal was a jagged blade in Julian’s chest. Vanessa, his "perfect" fiancée, had been courting the twins with gifts and grand gestures, but the footage showed her sliding a small, silver vial into the tea canister while Elena turned to answer the phone.
Julian didn't confront her at the hospital. He played the long game. He went home.
The mansion felt like a tomb. Vanessa was in the study, sipping wine, looking at a magazine featuring them on the cover. She looked up, her smile radiating practiced warmth. "Julian? Oh, darling, how is she? Is the nanny still... holding on?"
Julian watched her. She was a master of the corporate world—a shark who saw Elena not as a human, but as an obstacle. She thought if Elena was gone, she would become the matriarch, the boys would be shipped off to boarding school, and she would have Julian’s fortune to herself.
"She’s fighting," Julian said, his voice flat. "But the police found something in the tea. Traces of hemlock."
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Vanessa didn't blink. She laughed, a brittle, sharp sound. "Hemlock? Sounds like a tragic gardening accident. The poor thing."
"You’re right," Julian whispered, stepping closer. "It is tragic. But you’re not as clever as you think, Vanessa. The kitchen has 4K audio recording. I have everything."
