Chapter 5 - The Desperate Measure
Chloe screamed his name in absolute terror and dropped to the floor beside him.
Victor was convulsing violently, white foam beginning to bubble at the corners of his mouth.
Mrs. Gable stood perfectly still by the table, an empty, emotionless expression on her aged face.
"Call an ambulance right now!" Chloe yelled at the older woman frantically.
"The phone lines have been entirely cut, Miss Bennett," Mrs. Gable replied calmly.
Chloe realized instantly that the head housekeeper was absolutely part of the deadly conspiracy.
She ignored the old woman completely and sprinted out of the study toward her guest suite.
She burst into the room and frantically dug through Tommy's extensive medical supply bag.
She grabbed a heavy plastic syringe and a vial of powerful, unmixed adrenaline.
Chloe ran back to the study just as Victor's violent convulsions began to slow down entirely.
His heartbeat was fading rapidly, his pulse barely a flutter against his cold skin.
She uncapped the syringe with her teeth and plunged it directly into his thigh muscle.
She pressed her hands over his chest, performing desperate compressions with all her remaining strength.
"Please don't die, please don't leave me," she sobbed hysterically over his motionless body.
Suddenly, Victor gasped loudly, his chest heaving as the powerful adrenaline shocked his failing heart.
His dark eyes snapped open, completely wild and entirely disoriented.
Chloe collapsed against his chest, weeping uncontrollably in profound, overwhelming relief.
Victor wrapped a weak, trembling arm around her back and held her tightly against him.
"You saved my life," he whispered hoarsely, kissing the top of her messy hair.
He slowly forced himself to sit up, his eyes scanning the empty room for the housekeeper.
"Mrs. Gable poisoned you, she was standing right there," Chloe informed him quickly.
Victor pulled his weapon from his shoulder holster and stumbled toward the staff quarters.
Chloe followed closely behind him, her entire body shaking with residual adrenaline.
They pushed open the heavy wooden door to Mrs. Gable's private basement bedroom.
The room was entirely empty of personal belongings, completely stripped down to the bare walls.
Mrs. Gable was lying perfectly still on her small bed, staring blankly up at the ceiling.
A massive, empty bottle of sleeping pills rested suspiciously on the nightstand beside her.
"She committed suicide out of guilt," Chloe gasped, covering her mouth in pure horror.
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Victor walked closer to the bed and examined the old woman's pale, lifeless face.
"She was murdered to tie up loose ends, Bennett, because the real traitor is still alive."
