Chapter 4 - The Nephew's Secret
The police officer grabbed my wrists and forced them roughly into the cold metal handcuffs.
"You are making a terrible mistake, my sister-in-law poisoned him!" I screamed desperately.
The officers completely ignored my pleas as they dragged me out to the squad car.
The paramedics finally arrived, rushing past me to save my dying brother on the living room floor.
I watched in absolute agony as they loaded Ryan onto a stretcher and placed an oxygen mask over his face.
The police car sped away toward the local precinct, leaving me trapped in a nightmare.
They placed me in a small, cold interrogation room and chained me to a metal table.
A tall, sharp-looking detective walked into the room and dropped a file onto the table.
"My name is Detective Hayes, and we have overwhelming evidence against you," he stated coldly.
He opened the file to reveal several photographs of a rare, toxic chemical found in my kitchen cabinets.
"I have never seen those bottles in my entire life!" I yelled in frustration.
Detective Hayes leaned closer, his dark eyes analyzing my terrified expression.
"We also found an anonymous tip stating that you poisoned his coffee to inherit his estate."
"Vanessa planted that evidence to frame me so she can collect the five million dollar life insurance policy," I explained frantically.
I told the detective everything about the slapped recording, the HR email, and the dropped folder.
Detective Hayes remained silent for a long moment, slowly processing the wild story I had just told him.
He pulled a small digital voice recorder from his pocket and placed it on the table.
"Your nephew, Leo, came to the station twenty minutes ago," Detective Hayes revealed softly.
"Is Leo safe from that monster?" I asked, my heart pounding with fear for the young boy.
The detective nodded and pressed the play button on the small device.
Leo's shaky voice filled the room, confirming that he had secretly recorded a second video that morning.
He had captured Vanessa pouring the liquid toxin into Ryan's coffee mug before she left for my house.
Detective Hayes unlocked my handcuffs, a genuine look of apology crossing his tired face.
"You are completely free to go, Clara, but we have a massive problem."
"What kind of problem?" I asked, rubbing my sore wrists.
"Vanessa emptied all of her corporate bank accounts thirty minutes ago and completely vanished."
Before I could even process this terrible news, the detective's desk phone began ringing loudly.
He answered the call, his face draining of all color as he listened to the voice on the other end.
May you like
He slowly hung up the receiver and looked at me with pure, unadulterated terror.
"Vanessa just kidnapped Leo from our protective custody waiting room."
