Chapter 1 - The Dark Discovery
I stared at the crumpled worksheet shaking violently in Lumi’s tiny hands.
My heart pounded against my ribs like a trapped bird desperately trying to escape.
She carefully unfolded the paper, revealing a hidden photograph tucked inside.
It was a Polaroid picture of me sleeping in my bed from just a few nights ago.
A thick, aggressive red X was drawn entirely over my face in permanent marker.
Next to my sleeping head in the photograph was a small glass vial filled with a strange, clear liquid.
Printed text across the bottom of the photo read that there were only a few more weeks until the payout.
The air completely left my lungs as I realized what I was looking at.
"Mommy makes me put drops from that little bottle into your coffee thermos," Lumi whispered.
Tears streamed down her pale cheeks as she confessed the horrifying secret.
"She told me if I didn't do it, she would send me away to a terrible place forever," the little girl cried.
I knelt down on the kitchen floor and pulled her into a fierce, protective hug.
The mystery of her silent, terrified tears was finally solved in the most sickening way imaginable.
She was not crying because she hated me or wanted my attention.
She was crying because her own mother was forcing her to slowly poison me to death.
My mind raced back to all the mornings my coffee tasted slightly bitter.
I remembered the recent dizzy spells at the hospital that I had simply blamed on exhaustion.
Maris was slowly killing me, and she was using her innocent seven-year-old daughter to do it.
I needed to gather this evidence and take Lumi to the police station immediately.
I stood up and reached for my car keys resting on the kitchen counter.
Suddenly, the heavy metallic click of the front door deadbolt echoing through the hallway froze my blood.
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The brass doorknob turned slowly with a sinister, agonizing squeak.
"I missed my flight, honey!" Maris called out sweetly from the foyer.
