Chapter 1 - The Clear Plastic Bag
Officer Reyes held the freezer bag up to the harsh light of our bedroom ceiling fixture.
Inside the thick plastic were dozens of small, unmarked glass vials filled with a clear liquid.
There was also a small, leather-bound notebook tucked neatly behind the glass tubes.
The sharp, chemical smell immediately filled the entire room, burning the back of my throat.
It was the exact same odor I had smelled in my hand lotion and on my pillowcases for months.
My husband Mark stared at the bag with his mouth slightly open, completely paralyzed by shock.
Gary’s voice boomed from the kitchen, sounding far more frantic than angry now.
"You have no right to look through my personal things without a warrant," Gary shouted.
The other officer in the kitchen firmly told my father-in-law to sit back down in his chair.
Officer Reyes carefully unsealed the plastic bag and pulled out the small leather notebook.
He flipped the cover open, his eyes scanning the first page in total silence.
I took a step closer, my heart pounding so hard I could hear it echoing in my own ears.
"What does it say?" Mark asked, his voice trembling for the first time since Lily was hospitalized.
Officer Reyes looked up at me with an expression of pure, unfiltered horror.
He turned the notebook around so Mark and I could see the handwritten ink on the page.
It was a detailed log of dates, times, and specific locations inside our house.
Beside every single date was my name, followed by a dosage amount in milliliters.
But the very last entry on the page was not written next to my name.
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It was written next to Lily's name, with today's date and the words "Maximum Dose."
Before any of us could process the terrifying reality, the sound of shattering glass echoed from the kitchen.
