Chapter 2 - What Was in Her Blood
Daniel turned toward the elevator.
Lauren stepped out.
She had changed nothing except her shoes.
The black evening dress remained.
Her makeup was smudged beneath her eyes.
And the small leather purse hung from her shoulder.
Daniel crossed the waiting room.
Lauren stopped.
“Daniel—”
“Give me your purse.”
“What?”
“Give it to me.”
Margaret stood.
“Daniel, not here.”
He ignored her.
Lauren tightened her grip.
“You’re acting insane.”
“What medication are you taking?”
Lauren’s face changed.
Only for half a second.
Daniel saw it.
“Answer me.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
The obstetrician stepped closer.
“Mr. Bennett, please.”
Daniel pointed at Lauren.
“The doctor found medication in Rachel’s blood.”
Lauren swallowed.
“So?”
“So I saw a bottle in your purse tonight.”
Margaret’s eyes widened.
“Lauren?”
Lauren looked around the waiting room.
“This is ridiculous.”
“What was it?”
“Something for anxiety.”
The doctor spoke.
“May I ask which medication?”
Lauren gave the name.
It wasn’t the same one.
Daniel knew immediately.
“You’re lying.”
Lauren stared at him.
“I’m not.”
“I saw the label.”
“You glanced at my purse.”
“I picked it up when it fell off the chair.”
Lauren’s breathing changed.
Edward stepped between them.
“Enough.”
Daniel rounded on his father.
“No. Not enough. My wife is unconscious because your daughter locked her outside, and now a drug Lauren carries has shown up in Rachel’s bloodstream.”
Lauren’s eyes filled.
“I never drugged Rachel.”
The sentence silenced everyone.
Daniel had not used that word.
Drugged.
Lauren realized it a moment too late.
Margaret whispered, “Lauren.”
Lauren shook her head quickly.
“I mean obviously. That’s what you’re accusing me of.”
Daniel’s stare hardened.
The doctor intervened.
“Mr. Bennett, we need to let hospital security handle this.”
Daniel turned toward her.
“What is the medication?”
She explained.
It was a prescription sedative.
In sufficiently high doses, it could cause dizziness, slowed reactions, memory problems, and unconsciousness.
Pregnancy made the situation more concerning.
Daniel thought of Rachel’s recent complaints.
She had been unusually tired.
Twice she had said her tea tasted strange.
Once she had nearly fallen while carrying laundry upstairs.
They had blamed pregnancy.
Rachel had blamed herself.
Daniel felt sick.
“How long can it remain detectable?”
“Depending on the dose and frequency, several days.”
“Frequency?”
“The concentration suggests she may have been exposed more than once.”
Margaret sat down.
Edward looked at Lauren.
“Tell us the truth.”
Lauren began crying.
“I didn’t give her anything.”
Daniel held out his hand.
“The purse.”
“No.”
“Then security can take it.”
Lauren looked toward the hospital doors.
Daniel saw the calculation.
He moved before she did.
“Don’t.”
Lauren froze.
Hospital security arrived moments later.
The purse was not searched immediately because the hospital had procedures.
Police were called.
Daniel barely cared about the process.
His attention shifted when a nurse appeared.
“Mr. Bennett?”
He turned.
“Your wife is awake.”
Daniel forgot everything else.
He ran.
Rachel looked tiny beneath the hospital blankets.
Machines surrounded her.
A fetal monitor traced their child’s heartbeat in rhythmic pulses.
Daniel stopped at the doorway.
Rachel opened her eyes.
“Hey.”
He crossed the room and took her hand.
“I thought I lost you.”
Her eyes filled.
“The baby?”
“Still with us.”
Rachel cried.
Not loudly.
Just tears slipping toward her temples.
Daniel kissed her fingers.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“I should have seen what Lauren was doing.”
Rachel looked away.
“You couldn’t.”
“I should have.”
“Daniel.”
He leaned closer.
“She’s not coming near you again.”
Rachel closed her eyes.
Something about her expression worried him.
“What?”
“There’s something I need to tell you.”
Daniel sat.
Rachel looked at the door.
“Lauren’s been doing things for months.”
“What things?”
“Little things.”
She described the comments.
The invitations that mysteriously never reached her.
The family dinners Lauren told Rachel were canceled.
The private insults.
The accusations that Rachel had trapped Daniel with a pregnancy.
Daniel’s expression darkened with every sentence.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I did.”
He frowned.
“When?”
“After your mother’s charity luncheon.”
Daniel searched his memory.
Rachel had called him that afternoon.
She had sounded upset.
Then Daniel had received a text from Lauren claiming Rachel was emotional because of hormones.
He had gone home with flowers.
He had comforted Rachel.
But he had never directly confronted Lauren.
Rachel gave him a sad smile.
“You thought I was stressed.”
Daniel felt ashamed.
“I failed you.”
“No. She manipulated both of us.”
Rachel touched her abdomen.
The monitor continued its steady rhythm.
Then she whispered, “There’s more.”
Daniel waited.
“Sometimes when I was at your parents’ house, I felt strange after drinking tea.”
His stomach dropped.
“When?”
“The first time was maybe six weeks ago.”
“Six weeks?”
“I thought it was pregnancy.”
“Who made the tea?”
Rachel looked at him.
Daniel already knew.
“Lauren.”
Rachel nodded.
The police interviewed her an hour later.
By then, Lauren’s purse had been examined with her consent after her attorney was contacted.
The prescription bottle was inside.
Several pills were missing.
Lauren insisted she had taken them herself.
There was no immediate proof otherwise.
But the police collected the bottle.
They also requested access to the Bennett apartment’s security system.
Edward suddenly became tense.
“The cameras don’t record inside private areas.”
Daniel looked at him.
“What do they record?”
“Entrances. Hallway. Kitchen service area. Balcony doors.”
Daniel stood.
“The balcony?”
Edward nodded.
The apartment had a smart-home system.
The balcony door recorded lock and unlock events.
A small security camera faced the exterior because of the high-rise liability policy.
Daniel nearly laughed from disbelief.
“So there’s video.”
Lauren had gone pale.
Margaret stared at her daughter.
“Why do you look scared?”
“I don’t.”
“You do.”
Lauren stood.
“I’m leaving.”
The police officer blocked her path.
“We’re not detaining you, Ms. Bennett, but we need your contact information before you go.”
Daniel watched.
Lauren was terrified.
Not embarrassed.
Not guilty about an impulsive prank.
Terrified.
The difference mattered.
At 3:20 a.m., Edward gave police remote access to the building security account.
Everyone waited.
The balcony footage loaded.
Daniel stood beside the detective.
Timestamp: 9:14 p.m.
Rachel stepped outside.
Lauren followed.
They argued.
No audio.
Lauren shut the door.
Locked it.
Rachel immediately tried the handle.
Lauren stood there.
Thirty seconds.
One minute.
Two.
Then Lauren walked away.
Rachel kept pounding.
Daniel’s jaw clenched.
At 9:21, Rachel slid down the glass.
At 9:23, she struggled back up.
At 9:25, she collapsed.
Daniel appeared at 9:26.
Seven seconds later, he opened the door.
The detective paused the video.
“Ms. Bennett left her outside for twelve minutes.”
Lauren said nothing.
Then the detective rewound.
“Wait.”
Daniel leaned forward.
“What?”
The detective zoomed in.
Before Rachel stepped onto the balcony, Lauren had been holding something behind her back.
A glass.
She placed it on a side table after shutting the door.
Daniel recognized it.
Rachel’s sparkling water.
The detective looked at Lauren.
“Did you prepare that drink?”
“No.”
“Who did?”
“I don’t know.”
The video continued backward.
9:08.
Rachel entered the living room.
9:06.
Lauren stood alone near the drinks.
The detective leaned closer.
Lauren reached into her purse.
Removed something.
Her hand disappeared behind a vase.
Then she leaned over Rachel’s glass.
Margaret began sobbing.
Edward whispered, “Oh my God.”
Lauren backed toward the wall.
“No.”
Daniel turned.
“Tell me that isn’t what it looks like.”
Lauren shook her head.
“No, no, no.”
The detective froze the frame.
“Ms. Bennett, I strongly recommend you stop talking until your attorney arrives.”
Lauren’s face collapsed.
Daniel stared at the image.
His own sister.
Her hand above Rachel’s drink.
But then the detective noticed something else.
A figure appeared reflected in the dark balcony glass.
Someone else had been standing behind Lauren.
Someone who had watched everything.
The detective zoomed in.
Daniel recognized the face.
May you like
And suddenly his father whispered:
“That person was never invited.”
