Chapter 5 - The Bitter Poison
The glass of water slipped from my trembling fingers, shattering into countless sharp pieces across the hardwood floor.
Maya did not flinch at the sound of the breaking glass, nor did she ask if I was hurt.
Her comforting smile slowly melted into a cold, calculated smirk that I had never seen on her face before.
"You always were too observant for your own good, big sister," she said, taking a deliberate step back from me.
My vision instantly began to blur, and a sudden, violent wave of nausea forced me to drop to my knees.
She hadn't just given me water to calm my nerves; she had laced the drink with something fast-acting and powerful.
"Why?" I choked out, fighting desperately to keep my eyes open as the room started to spin.
Maya walked over to the hallway, casually running her fingers over the fabric of Julian's expensive suit jacket.
"Because Julian promised me half the company if I helped him get rid of his controlling mother and his boring, pathetic wife."
She confessed that she had been sleeping with my husband for three years, operating entirely under my nose.
Maya was the one who had tipped Julian off about the silver key, and she was the one who suggested the Maui cover story.
The betrayal cut much deeper than the poison in my veins, tearing away the last shred of family I had left in the world.
"Chloe and the driver are in the garage," I slurred, hoping the threat of armed backup would scare her.
Maya simply laughed, a bright, cheerful sound that made my stomach aggressively turn.
"Julian's private security team executed them both the moment they parked the car."
She knelt down beside me, violently grabbing my hair to force my heavy head up to look at her.
"Julian is on his way here right now to finish the job, and then we are going to collect that two-million-dollar bounty together."
My body felt incredibly heavy, and my limbs completely refused to respond to my brain's desperate commands to run.
I fell sideways onto the floor, staring helplessly at the shattered glass scattered inches from my face.
I could hear the heavy rumble of a vehicle pulling up the dirt driveway, signaling that my husband had finally arrived.
Heavy footsteps echoed on the wooden porch, and the front door slowly creaked open.
I closed my eyes, silently apologizing to Eleanor for failing to expose the monster she had raised.
Suddenly, a massive, deafening explosion rocked the entire cabin, shattering every window in the living room.
The shockwave threw Maya across the room, slamming her violently against the stone fireplace.
I forced my heavy eyes open just in time to see a tall man step through the thick smoke pouring in from the doorway.
He was holding a gas mask in one hand and a heavily modified combat shotgun in the other.
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He looked down at my paralyzed body, his piercing green eyes looking identically like Eleanor's.
"Get up, Sarah," he commanded, pulling a syringe of clear liquid from his tactical vest. "We have a company to steal."
