Chapter 2 - The Toxic Truth
We strapped our sobbing son into my small sedan and drove recklessly toward the city hospital.
My husband kept a blood-soaked napkin pressed firmly to his head while navigating the heavy traffic.
Our son was wheezing violently in his car seat and his face was covered in a terrifying rash.
We rushed through the automatic doors of the emergency room and screamed for medical assistance.
A team of pediatric nurses immediately took our baby into a sterile trauma room.
We sat in the cold waiting area for what felt like an absolute eternity.
I stared at the blood on my husband's shirt and felt a crushing wave of guilt for defending my mother's independence.
A stern doctor finally walked through the swinging doors with a grim expression on his tired face.
He told us that they had managed to stabilize our son's breathing with steroids and antihistamines.
I cried tears of absolute relief and hugged my husband as tightly as I possibly could.
The doctor held up his hand and told us that the danger was unfortunately not over yet.
He explained that they had pumped our son's stomach to test the contents of the spicy liquid.
The chili powder had caused severe inflammation in his tiny throat and respiratory system.
However the toxicology report revealed something far more sinister hiding inside that baby bottle.
The doctor looked at us with a mixture of professional concern and deep suspicion.
He stated that they had found incredibly high traces of crushed prescription blood pressure medication in the liquid.
It was the exact same heavy medication my mother had been prescribed for her heart condition.
Someone had intentionally crushed several lethal pills into the milk before the chili powder was ever added.
If my husband had not intervened when he did our son's heart would have completely stopped within the hour.
A tall police officer walked into the waiting room holding a shiny silver badge.
He informed us that this was no longer a simple medical emergency.
He was officially opening an attempted homicide investigation against my mother.
My phone suddenly vibrated in my pocket with a piercing emergency alert.
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It was an automated fraud warning from our primary banking institution.
Someone was currently at a downtown branch attempting to empty our entire life savings in cash.
