Chapter 3 - The Burner Phone
The police station was a blur of harsh fluorescent lights and shouting voices.
I sat in the holding cell, my mind racing through Sophie's terrifying warning.
Arthur was Ethan’s uncle, the only man who still held legal veto power over the massive Cole family trust.
If Arthur died, Margaret would have unrestricted access to billions.
I had to get out of this cell immediately.
Thankfully, I had prepared for an emergency long before this nightmare dinner.
I used my one phone call to contact a private bail bondsman I had retained months ago when I first suspected Ethan’s infidelity.
Within two hours, the cell door unlocked.
I walked out into the cold city streets, rubbing my bruised wrists.
I checked my watch, panicking as I saw it was already ten o'clock at night.
I flagged down a taxi and ordered the driver to speed toward First National Bank.
The night manager let me into the secure vault area, recognizing the VIP status of the brass key.
I found box number 402 and turned the lock with a heavy click.
Inside the long metal drawer was a single, cheap burner phone and a thick leather ledger.
I picked up the phone and pressed the power button.
The screen lit up, showing a single audio file waiting to be played.
I pressed play and held the speaker to my ear.
Margaret’s voice echoed through the tiny speaker, crystal clear and terrifyingly calm.
"Arthur’s heart condition makes this incredibly simple," she said on the recording.
"A few drops of the synthetic digitalis in his evening scotch, and the coroner will rule it a tragic, natural heart attack."
My blood ran ice cold.
I checked the timestamp on the recording.
It was dated for tonight, meaning she was poisoning him right now.
I grabbed the ledger and sprinted out of the vault.
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As I reached the bank lobby, my phone buzzed with an incoming text from Sophie.
The message read: "Arthur just collapsed in the study, and Ethan is locking all the doors."
