Chapter 2: The Woman Everyone Blamed
Chapter 2: The Woman Everyone Blamed
The emergency alarm shattered the silence of the Whitmore mansion at exactly 11:07 p.m.
Doors flew open.
Footsteps thundered across marble floors.
Security guards, nurses, servants—everyone rushed toward the nursery.
Bella lay motionless in her crib.
Her tiny skin had turned pale.
Her breathing was shallow.
Dangerously shallow.
"No!"
Gabriel Whitmore burst through the doorway like a man possessed.
He scooped his daughter into his arms.
"Bella! Bella, look at me!"
There was no response.
Only the terrifying sound of the heart monitor.
For one horrifying second, Gabriel thought he was losing her.
Again.
Dr. Victoria Hayes arrived moments later, carrying her medical bag.
Her face looked concerned.
But inside, she was smiling.
Everything was unfolding exactly as she had planned.
She examined Bella carefully, then slowly stood.
The room waited.
"What is it?" Gabriel demanded.
Victoria looked around before speaking.
"This wasn't natural."
A chill swept through the nursery.
"What do you mean?" Gabriel asked.
Victoria lowered her voice.
"Someone gave Bella a powerful sedative."
The room exploded with shock.
A servant gasped.
A nurse covered her mouth.
Mr. Henry's face turned white.
Gabriel felt his blood freeze.
"Are you saying someone poisoned my daughter?"
Victoria nodded.
"I'm afraid so."
The billionaire's expression darkened instantly.
"Lock every gate."
His voice echoed through the mansion.
"Nobody leaves this property."
Security immediately moved.
The hunt had begun.
And Victoria already knew exactly where they would find the evidence.
Because she had planted it herself.
Thirty minutes later, one of the guards rushed into Gabriel's office.
He carried a clear evidence bag.
Inside was a small medical vial.
The sedative.
"We found it, sir."
Gabriel stood.
"Where?"
The guard swallowed.
"Under Lucia's pillow."
Silence.
Dead silence.
Victoria lowered her eyes to hide her satisfaction.
The trap had worked.
Perfectly.
Lucia was asleep when someone pounded on her door.
She jumped awake.
Three security guards stood outside.
Their faces were grim.
"Come with us."
Fear instantly tightened her chest.
"What's happened?"
No one answered.
Minutes later, she was escorted into Gabriel's private library.
The moment she entered, she knew something was wrong.
Everyone was staring at her.
The nurses.
The servants.
The security team.
Even Mr. Henry.
The vial sat on the desk like a loaded weapon.
Lucia's heart nearly stopped.
"I've never seen that before."
Her voice shook.
Victoria folded her arms.
"The sedative used on Bella came from that vial."
Lucia stared at her.
"I didn't do this."
Victoria sighed dramatically.
"Unfortunately, that's what guilty people usually say."
The accusation hit like a slap.
Lucia felt the room turning against her.
The whispers started.
Maybe she did it.
Maybe she was jealous.
Maybe she wanted money.
Maybe she wasn't who she claimed to be.
Gabriel stood slowly.
The disappointment in his eyes hurt more than any accusation.
"I trusted you."
His voice was low.
Dangerously low.
Lucia felt tears burn behind her eyes.
"I would never hurt a child."
No one spoke.
No one defended her.
No one except one person.
"That's enough."
The voice came from the doorway.
Mr. Henry.
The elderly butler stepped inside holding a worn black notebook.
Victoria's stomach tightened.
Something wasn't right.
Mr. Henry approached the desk.
"For six months, I've kept records."
Gabriel frowned.
"Records of what?"
"Everyone who enters the nursery."
The room grew quiet.
Victoria's pulse quickened.
"Old habit," Henry said.
"When you've spent twenty years in military intelligence, you learn not to trust appearances."
Gabriel's eyes narrowed.
"What are you trying to say?"
Henry opened the notebook.
"Tonight, only three people entered the nursery before Bella became ill."
He pointed at the page.
"The night nurse."
A pause.
"Lucia."
Victoria relaxed slightly.
Then Henry continued.
"And Dr. Victoria Hayes."
The room froze.
Victoria's smile vanished.
For the first time all night, fear flickered in her eyes.
"I was performing a routine examination," she said quickly.
"That's perfectly normal."
"Perhaps."
Henry nodded.
"But there's something else."
He reached into his pocket.
And pulled out a tiny memory card.
The color drained from Victoria's face.
"What is that?" Gabriel asked.
Henry placed it carefully on the desk.
"Three weeks ago, I installed a hidden security camera outside the nursery."
Nobody breathed.
Victoria's heartbeat slammed against her ribs.
"The footage is stored on this card."
Gabriel stared at it.
Then at Victoria.
Then back at the card.
One piece of evidence.
One video.
One truth.
The entire room suddenly felt smaller.
Because if that footage survived...
It could destroy everything.
Victoria slowly slipped one hand into the pocket of her white coat.
Her fingers wrapped around a surgical scalpel.
Sharp.
Silent.
Deadly.
If the truth came out tonight...
May you like
Someone might not live long enough to reveal it.
And for the first time since she started her plan, Dr. Victoria Hayes realized she was the one in danger.
