Chapter 3 - THE SECOND DECANTER
Maya ran for the kitchen.
Julian followed.
Behind them, Arthur ordered security to keep every guest inside until police arrived.
The pantry was empty.
Shelves of wine, linens, and serving trays stood in perfect rows.
Only one thing looked wrong.
The black-ribbon decanter sat in the sink, rinsed clean.
Julian folded his arms.
“So the poison disappeared, the tablet broke, and my mother vanished.”
“You forgot the vial.”
“A vial anyone could have dropped.”
Maya ignored him and opened the cabinet beneath the sink.
A second decanter stood in the back.
It wore a white ribbon.
A label on its neck read MAYA TORRES.
Julian’s expression changed.
“What is that?”
“A message.”
Maya lifted the decanter carefully.
Inside was not wine.
It held dozens of folded slips of paper.
She removed one with a pair of kitchen tongs.
The note said: YOU SHOULD HAVE KEPT QUIET ABOUT ROOM 814.
Julian stared at her.
“What happened in Room 814?”
Maya’s pulse hammered.
“Your father’s first wife died there twenty-two years ago.”
“My mother is his first wife.”
“No,” Maya said. “Eleanor is his second.”
Julian’s face went still.
“That’s impossible.”
Maya pulled out another note.
This one contained only six words.
ASK ARTHUR WHO JULIAN’S REAL MOTHER WAS.
Julian snatched it from the tongs.
May you like
Before he could speak, the pantry door locked from the outside.
Then a sweet chemical smell began leaking through the air vent.
