Chapter 2 - The Silent Spoonful
Claire did not tell Nicholas about the hidden microphone right away.
She needed to know who she could trust in a house full of armed men.
The next afternoon, she prepared a simple, fragrant chicken consommé.
She poured the golden liquid into two identical porcelain teacups.
She carried the silver tray up the grand staircase and into Evelyn's room.
Nicholas and a man named Marcus, his head of security, were standing by the window.
Evelyn glared at the tray.
"I told you I do not want anything."
Claire did not argue.
She picked up the first teacup and took a slow, deliberate sip.
She swallowed it and smiled softly.
"It needs a little more parsley, but it is warm."
Claire placed the second teacup on the small table directly beside Evelyn's trembling hand.
"I will leave this one right here in case you get cold."
Claire turned her back on the elderly woman and started organizing the medical supplies on the dresser.
Five minutes passed in total silence.
Claire heard the faint clinking of porcelain against a saucer.
Nicholas held his breath.
Evelyn had picked up the cup and taken a tiny sip of the broth.
It was the first willing bite she had taken in four months.
Evelyn closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh of relief.
She gestured for Claire to come closer.
Claire leaned down to hear the frail woman's whisper.
May you like
"The poison was not in the food four months ago," Evelyn whispered directly into Claire's ear.
"It was in the water glass, and Marcus was the one who poured it."
