My brother-in-law beat me until blood covered my face, my shoulder was dislocated, and his hands tightened around my throat until everything faded into darkness. My sister never tried to stop him. She only looked at me and said, “You should have signed over the house.” I woke in the hospital expecting defeat, only to find them already celebrating outside my room. But when my father’s attorney placed a sealed letter beside my bed, I smiled for the first time, because they had absolutely no idea what my father had left behind for me... and what I was about to take from them.

I stared at the treacherous text message from Martin, feeling the last remaining pillar of my support completely crumble.

My own lawyer had sold me out for a cut of my father's massive estate.

I was completely trapped in an isolated house with two people who wanted me dead, and absolutely nobody was coming to save me.

I placed the heavy revolver back into the waistband of my jeans, knowing tonight was going to end in violence.

At seven o'clock, Vanessa knocked on my door and cheerfully announced that dinner was served.

I walked down the stairs and into the grand dining room, where a massive feast was laid out on the mahogany table.

Three crystal glasses filled with expensive red wine sat perfectly arranged beside our plates.

"To fresh starts and new beginnings," Vanessa chimed, raising her glass high into the air.

Daniel raised his glass with a wicked, knowing grin, staring directly at my throat.

I picked up my glass with my uninjured hand, but I did not take a sip.

"Actually, Vanessa, I think I would prefer the white wine you have chilling in the kitchen," I said innocently.

Vanessa rolled her eyes in extreme annoyance but turned around and walked toward the kitchen.

The moment her back was fully turned, I quickly swapped my red wine glass with Daniel's glass.

I knew Daniel would never poison Vanessa's cup, but he was certainly arrogant enough to poison mine.

Vanessa returned a moment later with a fresh bottle of white wine and poured me a small amount.

"Now, let's drink," Daniel ordered, taking a massive, greedy gulp from the red wine glass sitting in front of him.

I took a tiny sip of the safe white wine and watched him carefully.

Daniel wiped his mouth with a napkin and smiled, preparing to cut into his roasted chicken.

Suddenly, he dropped his silver fork, his hand violently trembling against the wooden table.

His face turned a horrifying shade of pale gray, and his breathing became sharp and shallow.

"What did you put in the food, Vanessa?" Daniel gasped, clutching his throat as his eyes widened in sheer panic.

Vanessa looked at him in absolute confusion, having no idea what was happening to her husband.

Daniel violently convulsed, knocking his chair backward as he crashed onto the hardwood floor.

He began foaming at the mouth, his legs kicking wildly against the expensive rug.

"He poisoned the red wine, Vanessa," I said calmly, taking another small sip from my glass.

Vanessa didn't scream or rush to help her dying husband on the floor.

“Which daughter is yours?” should have been a harmless question

The first wineglass shattered at 8:07 p.m

The moment the mafia boss’s wife called me “an illiterate servant,”

Instead, she calmly picked up her steak knife, turned toward me, and smiled a smile made of pure evil.

"I know he did, Clara, because I gave him the poison this morning," she whispered.

Chapter 5 - The Poisoned Toast