Curtis blocked her path instinctively.
“Nobody leaves,” he said firmly. “I am calling the police.”
Sirens arrived within minutes. Officers separated everyone. Paramedics carried Tyler to an ambulance, still alive, still breathing, clinging to his mother hand.
At Silverton General Hospital, doctors worked through the night. Tests revealed traces of a rare toxin in Tyler bloodstream. A dose small enough to induce coma, slow heart function, and mimic death.
In an interrogation room downtown, Brian cracked under questioning. Text messages retrieved from his phone revealed plans with Sandra, promises of money, discussions about inheritance and life insurance policies. The truth unraveled thread by thread until there was no lie left to hold together.
Sandra broke first, sobbing that she had only followed Brian instructions. Brian admitted everything with a hollow voice, claiming desperation and greed had blinded him.
They were arrested before sunrise. Meanwhile, in the hospital waiting room, Kimberly sat on the floor with her head against the wall, Tyler breathing steadily behind a glass door. Curtis sat beside her, silent, still shaken.