Chapter 3 - THE MOTHER-IN-LAW'S ALIBI
Carol was brought back into the dining room from the kitchen, flanked by two uniformed officers. Her defiant posture had completely collapsed, replaced by a sullen, panicked silence. She refused to look me in the eye, keeping her gaze fixed on the floral pattern of the rug.
"Mrs. Romano," Inspector Vance said smoothly, stepping into her line of sight. "We’ve matched the chemical residue on the glass your granddaughter drank from with the open vial found in the locked gardening shed outside. Care to explain why you have industrial-grade animal sedatives locked behind your lawnmower?"
Carol swallowed hard, her jaw working furiously before she finally spoke, her voice dropping into a bitter, venomous hiss. "I didn't mean to hurt the child! It was meant for her mother!"
The confession dropped like a bomb inside the quiet room. Michael let out a ragged, tortured cry, lunging forward toward his mother before the officers intercepted him, pinning his arms back.
"Mom! Are you out of your mind?!" Michael screamed, tears of rage and betrayal streaming down his face. "You tried to kill my wife?! What has Sarah ever done to you?!"
"She ruined our family!" Carol shrieked back, dropping all pretense of innocence as her face twisted in pure hatred. "She's a commoner! She’s filling your head with independence, making you move away from the estate, turning you against our traditions! If you hadn't married her, you would have taken over the family foundation like you were born to do! She's an anchor dragging you down into the dirt, and I was simply cutting the rope!"
I stood frozen, staring at the woman I had called family, the woman who had baked birthday cakes with my daughter just hours before. The depth of her malice was staggering. She hadn't cared about collateral damage. If Emma hadn't switched seats, I would have been the one in that ambulance—or worse.
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"Take her into custody," Inspector Vance ordered, his tone absolute. "Charge her with attempted first-degree murder, conspiracy, and poisoning a minor."
As the officers slapped the steel cuffs onto Carol’s wrists and dragged her out toward the squad car, she cast one final, venomous glare over her shoulder at me. "You won't win, Sarah. The foundation owns half this city. My lawyers will have me out before morning."
