Daniel’s voice filled the courtroom:
“The new dosage is working. He remembers less every week.”
Then Mark:
“What if someone notices?”
Daniel again—cold, certain:
“They won’t. Everyone will think it’s the illness. Once he’s declared incompetent, everything is mine.”
Then Vanessa:
“And my accounts? You said I’d have access once guardianship is approved.”
Gasps rippled through the room.
A reporter dropped his notebook.
The judge slammed her gavel.
“Order!”
Sophie held up the pill bottles.
“These were switched,” she said. “One is the real medication. The other isn’t.”
The court ordered immediate analysis.
Daniel’s composure shattered.
“This is a setup!” he shouted. “A ridiculous lie from a child and a servant!”
The judge’s gaze turned icy.
“And that statement just made your situation worse.”
Security moved in.
Vanessa tried to slip away.
She didn’t make it far.
Mark stood frozen, pale.
Then—
Arthur turned his head.
Slowly.
His eyes focused for the first time all morning.
“Sophie…” he whispered.
She ran to him.
“I’m here.”
He squeezed her fingers—barely.
“You kept your promise.”
She touched the silver bracelet on her wrist—a gift from him, engraved with a small “W” for Wednesday.