Chapter 3 - The Burner Phone
I sat on the cold bathroom floor and tried to process the horrifying truth. My husband and my sister had conspired to murder me on my daughter's birthday. Emma had simply grabbed the wrong cup when the party chaos began. I splashed cold water on my face and forced myself to remain calm. If Mark realized I knew the truth, he would kill me right here in the hospital. I walked back into the waiting room and saw Mark sleeping in a plastic chair. His jacket was draped loosely over the seat next to him. I crept silently toward the chair and slipped my hand into his jacket pocket. I was searching for the plastic unicorn cup, but my fingers brushed against something metallic. I pulled out a cheap, prepaid burner phone that I had never seen before. I unlocked the screen and opened the single text message conversation on the device. The messages were entirely between Mark and an unsaved phone number. The most recent message was sent just ten minutes ago. It read, "The kid drank it instead, so the original plan is ruined." Mark had replied, "Don't panic, we can still collect the life insurance if she dies tonight." Life insurance? I had never signed any paperwork for a life insurance policy on my seven-year-old daughter. I scrolled further up the message chain and found a photograph of a legal document. It was a policy worth five million dollars, and the primary beneficiary was my sister Rachel. My head spun as I realized the immense scale of their sick and twisted greed. Suddenly, a strong hand snatched the burner phone out of my grasp. Mark was standing right behind me, his eyes blazing with violent fury. He shoved me hard against the hospital wall and pressed his forearm against my throat. He whispered that I was always far too nosy for my own good. He pulled a small syringe from his pocket and uncapped the needle with his teeth. He told me it was time for me to have a very unfortunate medical emergency.
