Chapter 2 - THE DOCTOR KNEW TOO MUCH
“How do you know it’s a small amount?”
Claire’s question landed harder than any accusation.
Dr. Henry Calder stopped moving.
The ballroom was so quiet that Claire could hear the faint hum of the refrigeration units through the service doors.
Calder looked at the cake in Dominic’s hand, then back at Claire.
“I was making a general medical observation.”
“No,” Claire said.
Vanessa Whitmore stepped forward.
“Oh, for God’s sake. She’s a maid pretending to be a detective now.”
Dominic did not look at Vanessa.
His attention remained on Calder.
“You said a small amount.”
Calder’s jaw tightened.
“Dominic, I have treated Lily since she was an infant. I am trying to prevent panic.”
“You’re doing a terrible job.”
Dominic handed the plate to one of his security men.
“Bag it. Nobody touches it.”
Calder exhaled.
“This is absurd.”
Claire suddenly saw Lily rub the side of her neck.
Her stomach dropped.
“Lily?”
The girl looked at her.
“My tongue feels funny.”
Everything changed.
Dominic turned so fast the chair behind him nearly overturned.
“What?”
Claire crouched.
“Lily, open your mouth.”
The child obeyed.
There was no obvious swelling yet.
But her breathing had changed.
Not dramatically.
Not enough for most people to notice.
Claire noticed.
She had spent three years noticing.
“Where is her emergency kit?”
Dominic pointed toward a cabinet near the ballroom entrance.
“Nico!”
A tall man in a charcoal suit moved instantly.
Nico Ferraro had run security at the Romano estate for nearly a decade. He crossed the ballroom, opened the cabinet, and pulled out the red emergency pouch.
Claire took it.
Her hands stopped.
The zipper was already open.
She looked inside.
One antihistamine bottle.
Two alcohol wipes.
No epinephrine injector.
Dominic saw her expression.
“Claire?”
“The injector is missing.”
Vanessa gave a nervous laugh.
“She didn’t eat anything.”
Lily coughed.
Once.
Then twice.
Claire looked at the frosting smeared across the child’s fingertip.
“Did you lick your finger?”
Lily’s eyes filled with frightened tears.
“I don’t know.”
Dominic’s face became gray.
Calder moved closer.
“She may simply be anxious. Give her diphenhydramine and observe.”
Claire stared at him.
“No.”
Calder’s voice sharpened.
“Excuse me?”
“Antihistamines don’t stop anaphylaxis.”
“I am a physician.”
“And you know that.”
Dominic looked between them.
Claire opened a small compartment in the emergency pouch, hoping against hope.
Empty.
Her heart slammed against her ribs.
Then she remembered something.
“The kitchen.”
“What?” Dominic demanded.
“I keep a backup injector in the locked allergy cabinet because sometimes Lily spends afternoons with the kitchen staff.”
Claire ran.
She heard Dominic behind her.
The ballroom erupted with noise only after they disappeared through the service doors.
Claire pushed through the kitchen.
“Move!”
A pastry cook jumped aside.
She reached the stainless-steel cabinet beside the dry storage shelves, entered the code, and yanked it open.
The backup pouch was there.
So was the injector.
Thank God.
She turned.
Dominic had Lily in his arms.
The child was breathing faster now.
Her lips were pale.
Calder appeared behind them.
“Dominic, I strongly advise against allowing an employee to administer medication without—”
“Finish that sentence,” Dominic said, “and I will forget we have known each other twenty years.”
Calder stopped.
Claire removed the injector.
“Lily, sweetheart, remember when we practiced with the trainer?”
Lily nodded shakily.
“I don’t want the needle.”
“I know.”
“Will it hurt?”
“For a second.”
Lily looked toward her father.
Dominic pressed his forehead against hers.
“You can squeeze my hand as hard as you want.”
“You always say I’m strong.”
“You are stronger than every man in this house.”
Claire administered the epinephrine.
Lily cried out.
Dominic never moved.
Ten seconds passed.
Twenty.
Then Lily drew a deeper breath.
Claire nearly collapsed from relief.
“We still need the hospital.”
“Car’s ready,” Nico said.
Claire turned toward him.
He had appeared without her hearing.
His expression was calm.
Too calm.
Dominic carried Lily toward the rear entrance.
Claire followed.
Vanessa rushed into the kitchen.
“I’m coming.”
“No,” Dominic said.
She froze.
“Dominic—”
“You stay here.”
“You cannot possibly think—”
“My daughter was almost poisoned in my home.”
“It was an accident!”
Dominic stopped.
Slowly, he turned.
“No one has called it poisoning yet.”
Vanessa’s face changed.
Only slightly.
Claire saw it.
So did Dominic.
Vanessa recovered quickly.
“That is obviously what you’re implying.”
Dominic stared at her for another second before continuing toward the door.
At the hospital, Lily was placed under observation.
The second epinephrine dose was not needed.
Her breathing stabilized.
By ten thirty, color had returned to her cheeks.
Dominic sat beside her bed without removing his suit jacket.
Claire stood near the wall.
She had expected him to dismiss her once Lily was safe.
He had not.
Lily opened her eyes.
“Claire?”
“I’m here.”
“Did I ruin my birthday?”
Claire walked to the bed.
“You absolutely did not.”
“But everybody left.”
Dominic looked down.
Claire took Lily’s hand.
“You know what I think?”
“What?”
“Any birthday where you scare a hundred rich people into silence is probably memorable.”
Lily smiled weakly.
Dominic almost did.
Then the door opened.
Nico entered carrying a sealed evidence bag.
Inside was the replacement bracelet.
“We checked the engraving,” he said.
Dominic rose.
“And?”
“The jeweler confirmed the order.”
Vanessa had claimed she purchased the bracelet that afternoon.
She had lied.
“It was ordered twelve days ago.”
Dominic’s eyes narrowed.
“By whom?”
Nico hesitated.
Claire noticed.
Dominic noticed too.
“Say it.”
“The online order used an account registered to the Romano residence.”
“Whose?”
“Your household administration account.”
Dominic’s face hardened.
“That account is restricted.”
“Yes.”
“To four people.”
“Yes.”
Dominic stepped closer.
“Me. You. Mrs. Hargrove. And Vanessa.”
Nico nodded.
Claire felt cold spread through her chest.
Dominic looked through the hospital glass at his sleeping daughter.
“Find the original bracelet.”
“We’re searching.”
“Find who ordered the cake.”
“Vanessa approved the bakery.”
“I know what she approved publicly.”
Dominic turned.
“I want the actual order.”
Nico nodded and left.
Claire watched him go.
Something bothered her.
She did not understand what until she looked at Dominic.
“Mr. Romano.”
He turned.
“The emergency cabinet.”
“What about it?”
“When did security last inspect it?”
“Every Monday.”
“Today is Saturday.”
His expression changed.
Claire continued.
“An injector doesn’t disappear by itself.”
Dominic said nothing.
“And the replacement bracelet was made twelve days ago. The cake was ordered days ago. That means whoever did this didn’t improvise tonight.”
Dominic’s eyes became frighteningly still.
Claire lowered her voice.
“Somebody planned for Lily to have the wrong medical information on her wrist, almond in her cake, and no epinephrine nearby.”
For several seconds, Dominic simply stared at her.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
“What?”
Claire watched the blood drain from his face.
“When?”
A pause.
“Don’t touch anything.”
He ended the call.
“What happened?” Claire asked.
Dominic looked toward Lily.
Then toward the dark hospital window.
“They found her real bracelet.”
Relief rushed through Claire.
“Where?”
His eyes met hers.
“In your bedroom.”
And for the first time that night, Claire understood that whoever had tried to kill Lily had prepared for something else too.
May you like
They had prepared someone to blame.
Her.
