Chapter 3 - Blood and Betrayal
The realization hit me with the force of a physical blow.
Lauren had taken the backup pens from the pantry, but my mother had access to the front hallway.
My mother had arrived early to help set up the decorations near the front door.
She was the one who had moved my husband's bag to make room for the balloon arch.
I pulled out my phone with trembling fingers and dialed my brother's number.
He picked up on the first ring, the background noise of the empty house echoing through the speaker.
"Where is Mom?" I demanded, my voice cracking.
There was a long, terrifying pause on the other end of the line.
"She left," my brother said quietly.
"She packed up Lauren into her car the second the ambulance turned the corner."
I leaned against the cold brick wall of the hospital, feeling the world spin around me.
My own mother and sister had coordinated this nightmare.
They had planned it together, stripping us of every safety net we had built to protect our daughter.
My husband grabbed my shoulders, pulling me back to reality.
"We need to call the police right now," he said firmly.
I nodded, dialing 911 and frantically explaining the situation to the dispatcher.
As I spoke, the sliding emergency room doors hissed open.
The lead pediatrician stepped out, her face drawn and tight.
She walked straight toward us, removing her blue gloves with agonizing slowness.
"We stabilized her for now," she said softly.
I let out a sob of relief, but the doctor held up her hand to stop me.
"You need to know that her bloodwork just came back."
She looked back and forth between me and my husband.
"The almond extract wasn't the only thing in her system."
May you like
She handed us a printed lab report.
Someone had given Harper a heavy dose of sedatives before she even took a sip of that punch.
