Only strategy.
“If you show yourself… she’ll speed everything up.”
Adrian froze.
Every instinct screamed to run to his son.
But deep down…
he knew she was right.
This wasn’t random.
It was a plan.
Cold.
Calculated.
“So what do we do?” he asked.
Martha stepped closer.
“We play her game… until the end.”
Adrian frowned.
“I already switched the bottles,” she revealed. “Reduced the poison. That’s why he’s still alive.”
Adrian stared at her.
“You’ve been protecting him?”
She nodded.
“Since I suspected.”
His throat tightened.
Gratitude.
Pain.
Rage.
All at once.
“But she won’t stop,” Martha added. “She’ll try again.”
Adrian clenched his fists.
“Then we end it tonight.”
Martha shook her head.
“Not without proof.”
She pulled out a small phone.
“I recorded everything.”
Adrian’s eyes widened.
“The conversation?”
“And more.”
She took a breath.
“There’s something else you don’t know…”
A chill ran through him.
“What?”
She hesitated.
“The doctor… is involved.”
Silence.
“And a nurse too.”
The ground seemed to disappear beneath him.
This wasn’t just inside the house.
It was bigger.
Much bigger.
“She built all of this…” Adrian whispered. “A complete plan.”
“Exactly,” Martha said.
She leaned in.
“But tomorrow… she’ll make a mistake.”
“Why?”