Chapter 3 - The Poisoned Blood
I stared down at the lobby in absolute horror as my own husband paid off the men hunting me.
David had always claimed to hate my mother's ruthless business tactics, but he was secretly working right alongside her.
I quietly backed away from the railing and carried Elodie up to the fourth floor to avoid the guards below.
We slipped into an empty doctors' lounge where I found a set of car keys resting on a breakroom table.
I did not feel a single ounce of guilt as I stole a white lab coat to disguise myself and headed for the staff parking garage.
I buckled a shivering Elodie into the backseat of a stolen sedan and sped past the hospital's main security checkpoint.
Rain began to pour down onto the windshield as I drove aimlessly into the dark, stormy night.
I kept asking myself why my own husband and mother would conspire to terrorize my innocent little girl.
Then I remembered the massive trust fund my late father had set up exclusively for Elodie's fifth birthday.
If I was institutionalized for mental illness and Elodie was deemed unfit, David and my mother would gain full control of the billion-dollar estate.
Suddenly, a terrifying choking sound came from the backseat of the car.
I slammed on the brakes and pulled over to the side of the deserted highway.
Elodie was convulsing slightly, gasping for air as a dark, unnatural fluid bubbled from her pale lips.
I panicked and frantically searched the stolen car for a first aid kit.
I knew I could not take her to a normal emergency room without being immediately arrested by my mother's corrupt security team.
I desperately dialed the only person left in the world I could actually trust.
Mark was my best friend from college who ran an underground veterinary clinic for rescued exotic animals.
"Mark, I need medical help immediately, and nobody can know I am here," I sobbed into the phone.
Mark guided me to his hidden clinic on the outskirts of the city and immediately placed Elodie on a specialized oxygen ventilator.
He drew a vial of her blood and ran it through his expensive chemical analysis machine.
Ten minutes later, Mark walked out of the laboratory with a completely pale face.
"Clara, your daughter's illness is not natural at all," Mark whispered with a trembling voice.
"She has massive amounts of a rare, synthetic neurotoxin in her bloodstream."
I instantly remembered that David was the one who personally mixed Elodie's daily vitamin smoothies every single morning.
Before I could process this terrifying betrayal, Mark pointed at the small television screen mounted on the clinic wall.
May you like
My face was flashing across the breaking news channel with a massive red banner underneath.
The news anchor proudly announced that I was a wanted fugitive who had violently kidnapped and poisoned her own daughter.
