Chapter 2 - The Locked Door
I slammed my laptop shut just as the bathroom door creaked entirely open.
Clara stood in the doorway rubbing her tired eyes, looking like the picture of absolute innocence.
She asked me why I was working on my computer in the middle of the night.
I forced a sleepy laugh and told her I was just checking my upcoming shift schedule at the hospital.
Clara stared at me for a very long moment, her eyes darting toward the closed laptop.
She finally smiled and told me to come back to bed before I exhausted myself.
I followed her back to the bedroom, but I did not sleep a single wink that night.
My mind raced with terrifying questions about how to protect Harper from this dangerous psychopath.
The next morning, Clara announced she was making a special breakfast to celebrate her return from the trip.
She cheerfully cooked pancakes while Harper sat completely frozen at the dining room table.
I noticed Harper was refusing to eat, her small hands gripping the edge of her wooden chair.
Clara suddenly slammed a glass of orange juice down in front of the little girl.
She commanded Harper to drink every last drop of her special daily vitamins.
I watched carefully as Clara's hand lingered slightly too long over the glass.
My medical instincts kicked in, and I intentionally knocked my own coffee mug off the table.
The ceramic mug shattered loudly on the floor, splashing hot coffee completely everywhere.
While Clara angrily turned around to grab a towel, I quickly swapped Harper's glass with my empty water cup.
Harper looked up at me with wide, grateful eyes, silently acknowledging what I had just done.
Clara spent the rest of the morning cleaning the kitchen, completely unaware that her plan had failed.
I took the discarded glass of orange juice into the garage and used a portable testing strip from my medical bag.
The chemical strip immediately turned a bright, toxic shade of purple.
The juice was heavily laced with a lethal dose of liquid thallium, a highly dangerous heavy metal.
Clara was not just abusing Harper physically, she was actively trying to slowly poison her to death.
I knew I had to get the police involved immediately, regardless of the terrible risks.
I pulled out my cell phone to dial emergency services, my fingers shaking with sheer adrenaline.
Before I could press the call button, a heavy metal wrench violently smashed my phone into a dozen pieces.
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I spun around to find Clara standing directly behind me in the dim garage.
She was holding the bloody wrench in her right hand and smiling a truly terrifying smile.
