Chapter 3 - Eleanor’s Medicine Cabinet
Daniel arrived home furious.
“Mom!”
Eleanor looked up from the library.
Claire followed behind him.
Vanessa had temporarily moved to a guest apartment above the detached garage after the police warned everyone against unnecessary contact.
Eleanor folded her newspaper.
“I assume you heard.”
“The medication came from your prescription.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell the police you took that drug?”
“Because I stopped taking it months ago.”
Daniel stared at her.
Claire sat beside Eleanor.
“What was it prescribed for?”
“Insomnia.”
“And where did you keep it?”
“In the cabinet beside my bed.”
Daniel paced.
“Who had access?”
Eleanor gave him a look.
“This is a family home, Daniel. Half the county could probably find their way into my bedroom.”
Claire knew what she meant.
Housekeepers.
Nurses.
Family.
Vanessa.
“Was any medication missing?” Claire asked.
Eleanor hesitated.
“That is the problem.”
Daniel stopped.
“What problem?”
“I thought I misplaced it.”
“When?”
“About ten months ago.”
Daniel’s expression changed.
Ten months.
Thomas had died eight months earlier.
Claire saw the same thought cross his face.
“Mom,” Daniel said slowly, “did Thomas take any medication before the crash?”
Eleanor went pale.
Police reports had said Thomas lost control on a wet road.
No alcohol.
No illegal drugs.
Daniel immediately called Detective Soto.
Within hours, the investigation widened.
Old toxicology reports were pulled.
Thomas’s original blood panel had included trace sedative levels but below what investigators initially considered significant because the substance was legally prescribed to someone in his household network.
Now it mattered.
Claire watched Daniel read the report.
“Thomas had the same drug in his system.”
Eleanor covered her mouth.
“No.”
Daniel’s voice became hollow.
“The same drug.”
Claire squeezed his shoulder.
Detective Soto cautioned them.
“This does not prove Vanessa gave it to him.”
Daniel’s eyes hardened.
“But it means you’re reopening the case.”
“Yes.”
Vanessa learned about it that evening.
She stormed into the main house.
“You’re accusing me of killing my husband now?”
Daniel stood in the foyer.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
“That was my husband!”
“And I was your brother-in-law before you drugged me.”
Vanessa’s face twisted.
“I didn’t drug you.”
Claire came down the stairs.
Vanessa looked at her.
“You.”
Claire continued descending.
“What about me?”
“You poisoned everyone against me.”
Claire nearly laughed.
“You literally poisoned my husband.”
“You don’t know anything.”
“I know you staged yourself half naked in my bed beside an unconscious man.”
Vanessa’s jaw tightened.
Claire came to the bottom step.
“And if you think I’m still the woman who felt sorry for you after Thomas died, you’re mistaken.”
Vanessa stepped close.
“Be careful.”
Daniel moved between them.
“No. You be careful.”
Eleanor’s voice came from behind them.
“All of you, stop.”
She walked slowly into the foyer.
Vanessa looked at her.
“You started this.”
Eleanor smiled faintly.
“I suspect you started this long before any of us understood.”
Vanessa left.
But before getting into her car, Claire saw her make a phone call.
The following morning, the Mercer family attorney arrived.
His name was Walter Greene, seventy-two, gray-haired, meticulous, and visibly uncomfortable.
Eleanor had asked everyone to meet in the library.
Walter opened his briefcase.
“I need to disclose something.”
Daniel folded his arms.
“That sounds ominous.”
Walter looked at Eleanor.
“Thomas changed his estate plan three weeks before his death.”
Vanessa, who had been legally required to attend because the matter involved her, leaned forward.
“What?”
Walter continued.
“He created a conditional trust.”
Vanessa stared.
“You told me Thomas left everything to me.”
“Thomas left his personal property and several accounts to you.”
“Several?”
“Not controlling ownership of Mercer Holdings.”
Daniel frowned.
Their family company owned commercial real estate across three states.
Thomas had been expected to inherit half.
Walter slid a document across the table.
“Thomas directed that his controlling interest pass to any biological child he might have. If he had no child, it would revert to Daniel’s line.”
Claire instinctively touched her stomach.
Vanessa stared at her belly.
For the first time, Claire understood.
It wasn’t just Eleanor’s estate.
If Vanessa had no child with Thomas, Claire’s baby could eventually inherit a staggering amount.
Vanessa stood so suddenly her chair tipped backward.
“This is fraudulent.”
Walter remained calm.
“I prepared it myself.”
“Thomas would never do that.”
“He did.”
“Why?”
Walter looked uncomfortable.
“He had concerns about your financial conduct.”
Vanessa’s face drained.
Daniel spoke quietly.
“Mom was telling the truth.”
Vanessa turned toward Eleanor.
“You all planned this.”
Eleanor shook her head.
“No.”
“You hated me from the beginning.”
“I welcomed you into my home.”
“You looked down on me.”
“I defended you.”
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
“And now your precious Claire is carrying the golden heir.”
Claire stood.
“My baby has nothing to do with this.”
Vanessa looked directly at Claire’s stomach.
That look lasted perhaps two seconds.
It was enough to frighten Daniel.
He stepped forward.
“You will never go near my wife or child again.”
Vanessa smiled.
“That may not be your decision.”
That night, Claire and Daniel moved into a hotel.
Two days later, someone broke into their suite.
Nothing valuable was taken.
Not Claire’s jewelry.
Not Daniel’s laptop.
Only one thing was missing.
A folder containing copies of Thomas Mercer’s revised trust documents.
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And on the bathroom mirror, written in Claire’s red lipstick, were six words:
YOUR BABY DOESN’T BELONG IN THIS FAMILY.
