Chapter 15 - Marcus's Lie
Elena backed toward the locked kitchen door.
Victoria approached without hurry.
"What did Marcus put in my tea?"
"Ask him."
"I'm asking you."
Victoria's expression turned almost tender. "The first bottle of Aurelia came from Marcus."
Elena's chest tightened.
"That's not true."
"He gave it to you on your anniversary. White bottle, gold label. He said it came from a concierge doctor in Switzerland."
The memory hit instantly because that part was real.
Marcus had kissed her forehead. Told her the vitamins might help with nausea. He had poured two pills into her hand.
Elena pounded on the kitchen door. "Marcus!"
His voice came through the wood. "I can explain!"
Victoria smiled.
"Open the door," Elena demanded.
"I can't. It's dead-bolted from your side somehow."
"Did you give me the first pills?"
Silence.
Then: "Yes."
Her knees weakened.
"Why?"
"My mother told me they were prenatal supplements from a research company she invested in. I took them to Mara after you got dizzy. She told me to stop them."
Elena stared at the door. "You never told me that."
"I was embarrassed. I thought I'd been careless. I threw the bottle away."
Victoria added softly, "And then I replaced it."
Elena turned.
"Thank you."
Victoria frowned.
"For telling me the part he was too ashamed to tell. Now I know exactly where his guilt ends and your crime begins."
The warmth vanished from Victoria's face.
She reached into the folds of her dress and pulled out a syringe.
Elena grabbed a dining chair.
"You come one step closer and I break your wrist."
Victoria laughed. "You think violence proves sanity?"
"No. Survival doesn't need to prove anything."
The kitchen door shuddered as Marcus slammed into it from the other side.
Victoria advanced.
Elena threw the chair.
Victoria dodged, but the syringe flew from her hand and skidded under the table.
Elena ran for the service corridor.
She reached the hidden panel and pulled it open.
Someone stood inside the dark passage.
Owen.
May you like
He raised a gun.
"I'm sorry, Elena," he said.
