Chapter 1 – The Truth on the Floor
Ethan Harrington could not move.
The image before him refused to make sense.
His wife lay on the hardwood floor, one hand clutching her ribs while the other reached toward the overturned wheelchair. White pills were scattered around her like tiny pieces of shattered glass. Lena knelt beside her, shielding her from Margaret with both arms despite the fresh handprint burning across her cheek.
For several endless seconds, no one spoke.
Then Ethan's voice broke the silence.
"Somebody tell me what happened."
Margaret recovered first.
"Ethan, sweetheart, you're misunderstanding everything."
She stepped toward him with practiced composure.
"Your wife became emotional. She lost control of her chair."
Lena looked up, disbelief flashing across her face.
"That's a lie."
Margaret shot her a warning glare.
"You've already caused enough trouble."
Ethan ignored them both and hurried to Ava's side.
His knees hit the floor.
"Ava."
She blinked through tears.
"You... came home."
"I did."
He brushed a trembling strand of hair away from her face, his fingers stopping when he noticed another bruise hidden beneath her sleeve.
His heart pounded.
There hadn't been bruises when he'd left for his business trip four days earlier.
"Who did this?"
Ava hesitated.
Margaret answered before she could.
"She's been bumping into furniture."
Lena stood.
"No. Your mother forced her to drink orange juice mixed with sedatives."
Silence swallowed the room.
Margaret laughed.
"What a ridiculous accusation."
Without a word, Ethan picked up the broken medicine bottle from beneath the desk.
The label had been peeled away.
That alone made his stomach tighten.
He slipped the bottle into his pocket before calling emergency services.
"No one leaves this house."
Margaret's confident smile disappeared.
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For the first time in years, her son wasn't looking at her as a mother.
He was looking at her as a suspect.
