Chapter 5 - The Lethal Dose
I stared at the ominous text message glowing brightly on my phone screen.
A wonderful surprise from a man actively plotting my murder could only mean one terrible thing.
I drove back to my house with my heart pounding fiercely and painfully in my chest.
I walked carefully through the front door and found Ryan standing cheerfully in the modern kitchen.
He was wearing a perfectly pressed expensive suit and a warm, loving smile.
He held out a steaming ceramic mug of my favorite dark roast coffee.
He told me he wanted to sincerely apologize for pressuring me about the legal documents last night.
I took the warm mug from his hands and thanked him with a sickeningly sweet tone.
I pretended to take a long sip, but I kept my lips firmly and safely closed.
I watched Ryan's eyes carefully track the mug as I lowered it away from my face.
He looked incredibly disappointed when he realized I had not actually swallowed any of the hot liquid.
I casually set the coffee down on the granite counter and told him I needed to take a quick shower.
I quickly grabbed a small empty water bottle from the plastic recycling bin near the sink.
When Ryan turned his back to check his phone, I poured the untouched coffee directly into the bottle.
I hid the plastic bottle deep inside my purse and hurried upstairs to the master bathroom.
I turned the shower on full blast and locked the heavy wooden door to mask the sound of my phone call.
I called a private toxicology laboratory in the city and arranged for an emergency chemical analysis.
An hour later, I drove downtown and dropped the liquid sample off at the testing facility.
I sat in my car outside the secure lab, waiting anxiously for the final test results.
The head toxicologist finally walked out into the parking lot and handed me a sealed white envelope.
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He looked at me with absolute, unfiltered terror in his wide eyes.
He told me the coffee contained enough lethal arsenic to kill a full-grown adult in less than ten minutes.
