Chapter 3 - The Tainted Toast
Sarah looked down at the half-empty champagne glass sitting on her table.
A sickening wave of dizziness suddenly hit her head.
The room began to spin violently as the fire alarms blared on.
"What did you put in my drink?" Sarah choked out, clutching her throat.
Vanessa simply smiled and offered no response.
David grabbed Sarah by the shoulders with a look of genuine panic.
"Sarah, look at me and breathe," David pleaded desperately.
"I did not know she was going to do this," David cried.
Sarah shoved his hands away with the last bit of strength she had.
"You brought a murderer to our wedding," Sarah gasped, falling to her knees.
The police officer immediately shouted into his shoulder radio.
He requested a fleet of ambulances and a hazardous materials team.
Guests were now vomiting on the lawn outside the venue.
Whoever drank the champagne was falling terribly ill.
Sarah’s vision blurred as a sharp pain pierced her chest.
She saw her elderly father collapse near the dance floor.
He was clutching his heart and gasping for air.
"Dad!" Sarah screamed, but her voice was barely a whisper.
David stood frozen, looking back and forth between Vanessa and Sarah.
"Give them the antidote, Vanessa," David demanded angrily.
Vanessa leaned against the wet marble pillar with a casual shrug.
"I will give them the cure the second you sign the company over to my son," Vanessa negotiated.
She was holding an entire wedding hostage for a multi-million dollar corporation.
The police officer drew his weapon and pointed it squarely at Vanessa.
"You are going to prison for domestic terrorism," the officer growled.
"If I go to prison, the bride and her daddy die right here on this floor," Vanessa countered flawlessly.
Sarah felt her consciousness slipping away into utter darkness.
She heard the distant, echoing sound of ambulance sirens approaching the venue.
Strong hands lifted her off the cold marble floor.
She briefly opened her eyes and saw Detective Miller, a friend of her father.
"Hold on, Sarah, we have the medical team right here," Miller told her urgently.
The paramedics rushed a breathing mask over her face.
Sarah looked back one last time as she was loaded onto a stretcher.
David was not following her to the ambulance.
He was standing right next to Vanessa, holding her hand.
May you like
Detective Miller leaned over Sarah as the ambulance doors closed.
"Your husband is not who he says he is," Miller whispered grimly.
