Chapter 3 - The Frame Job
I stared at the jar of almond extract inside the plastic evidence bag as if it were a venomous snake.
I swore to Mark that I had never seen that specific jar before the security video showed it in Lauren's hands.
"Why would I ever poison my own daughter, Mark?" I pleaded, tears finally spilling down my cheeks.
Mark stepped backward, shaking his head slowly as if he were looking at a complete stranger.
"The police just called me and said you wiped the security footage right before you fled the house," he replied.
I tried to grab his arm to force him to listen to reason, but he violently pulled away from my touch.
I realized with horrifying clarity that Brenda and Lauren had planned this entire setup flawlessly.
They knew the paramedics would grab my large tote bag to move it out of the hallway during the chaos.
Brenda must have slipped the jar into my purse while everyone was distracted by Harper collapsing on the floor.
"Mark, someone cloned your phone to delete the footage, you have to believe me," I begged desperately.
A tall doctor in green scrubs walked out from the intensive care unit and approached us with a grim expression.
"Are you the parents of Harper Davis?" the doctor asked, his voice completely devoid of any emotion.
We both nodded frantically, hanging onto every single syllable he was about to say.
The doctor explained that the anaphylactic shock was incredibly severe, and Harper's brain had been deprived of oxygen.
He told us they had placed her in a medically induced coma to prevent any further neurological damage.
The floor beneath my feet felt like it was crumbling into a bottomless dark pit.
My little girl was fighting a silent battle in a dark room because of my own family's twisted cruelty.
I demanded to see her immediately, but the doctor held his hand up to stop me from walking past him.
"I am sorry, ma'am, but the police have strictly ordered us to deny you access to the patient," the doctor stated.
Mark looked at me with a mixture of sorrow and terrifying anger burning in his eyes.
"You need to leave this hospital right now, Sarah, before I have security throw you out," Mark threatened.
I was completely alone, abandoned by my husband, and locked out of my daughter's hospital room.
I turned around and walked out into the freezing night air, my mind racing to find a way to prove my innocence.
I knew I needed to find my brother David, because he was the only person who actively defended me.
I pulled out my phone and dialed his number, praying he was not sitting in a jail cell for assaulting a police officer.
The line rang four times before a gruff, unfamiliar voice answered the phone.
"If you want to see your brother alive again, you are going to bring that tablet to the old shipping docks," the voice growled.
I froze entirely, realizing the stranger thought I was the one who stole the tablet from the kitchen counter.
I tried to explain that the tablet was missing, but the man on the phone simply laughed coldly.
"You have exactly one hour, Sarah, or we are going to mail his fingers to your house," the man warned.
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The line went completely dead, leaving me standing in the empty hospital parking lot trembling with sheer terror.
I opened my car door to figure out a plan, but a heavy hand suddenly clamped down over my mouth from behind.
