Chapter 15 - The Glass Beside My Chair
The tipped champagne flute still lay in the grass.
It had fallen when Vanessa grabbed the microphone.
A server identified it as the glass prepared specifically for me.
I had not taken a sip.
Leo had called for me moments before the toast, and I stepped away.
The police collected the remaining liquid.
Michael’s schedule included a note beside 3:20 p.m.:
“Toast. Andrea becomes disoriented. Vanessa announces claim. Record reaction.”
He had not simply hoped I would lose control.
He had planned to make me appear unstable.
If I became confused or aggressive in front of witnesses, Michael could request emergency custody and present the forged birth certificate as supporting evidence.
The laboratory could not provide instant results, but the estate physician examined the bottle and found the seal had been punctured.
Vanessa denied knowing about it.
For once, I believed her.
On the recording, she had repeatedly asked Michael why I needed to be “calmed.”
He told her it was only anti-anxiety medication I already used.
I had never taken anxiety medication.
Eleanor closed her eyes.
“He could have killed you.”
Rachel corrected her gently.
“He may have tried.”
I looked toward the house where Leo sat with Mrs. Grant.
He was eating a plain slice of cake from the kitchen, unaware that the beautiful party outside had been designed as a trap.
My fear disappeared.
Something colder replaced it.
Michael had forged my signature.
Stolen my shares.
Threatened Vanessa.
Framed a dead nurse.
Bruised our son.
And possibly drugged my drink.
I called the detective.
“I want everything prosecuted.”
No private settlement.
No family protection.
No quiet resignation from the company.
The detective nodded.
Then he received an urgent message from the officers searching Michael’s office.
They had found emails between Michael and a physician.
The physician was not only helping him declare Eleanor incompetent.
He had also created a psychiatric history in my name.
According to the false records, I had been hospitalized twice.
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I had never met the doctor.
👉 Michael had spent years creating the illusion that I was unstable—and one respected family member had helped him do it.
