Chapter 4 - Shadows Across the Glass
When Victor burst through the double doors of Leo’s room, the lights were bright, and the air smelled faintly of lemon disinfectant.
Natalie was standing by the window, holding a glass of water, looking startled as if she had just woken up from a pleasant dream. Nora was awake, standing defensively at the foot of Leo’s bed, her eyes sharp and alert.
Leo lay motionless in the bed, his chest rising and falling, his eyes fixed on the ceiling, though a faint sheen of sweat glistened on his forehead.
“Victor?” Natalie asked, her voice a masterpiece of innocent concern, her eyes wide. “Goodness, you startled me. What’s wrong? Is everything alright?”
Victor didn't answer her immediately. He crossed the room in three strides, his dark eyes locked on Natalie. He ignored her and looked down at the IV bag hanging above Leo’s bed.
The plastic bag contained standard saline and nutrient fluid. But the injection port at the base had a tiny, fresh puncture mark.
“What were you doing by his bed, Natalie?” Victor’s voice was dangerously low, vibrating with suppressed fury.
Natalie set her glass down on the dresser with a soft click, her expression shifting from surprise to gentle hurt.
“I heard a noise downstairs, Victor. I came down to check, and I saw the door was ajar. I just wanted to make sure Leo was sleeping comfortably. Is it a crime to check on the boy I’m going to raise?” She gestured toward Nora. “Ask her. She was here.”
Victor turned his gaze to Nora.
Nora looked back at him, her expression unreadable. She hadn't screamed when Victor burst in. She hadn't panicked. She looked at Victor with a knowing, heavy sadness.
“Mr. Langley,” Nora said evenly, her voice steady. “Miss West was adjusting the IV line. She said the flow rate looked uneven.”
Natalie’s lips tightened into a thin, triumphant smile that vanished almost as quickly as it appeared. “See, Victor? You’re letting your paranoia run your life again. You’ve been working too hard. You need to rest.”
Victor stepped closer to Natalie, his sheer presence forcing her to take a half-step back. The expensive perfume she wore—white jasmine and amber—suddenly made his stomach turn. It was the scent of a lie wrapped in silk.
“Get out,” Victor said quietly.
Natalie’s breath hitched. “Victor, please—don't be ridiculous—shes just a hired hand, you’re letting a stranger— Nora has a criminal record, for God’s sake!”
“I said, get out of my house,” Victor repeated, his voice dropping into a tone that promised violence if disobeyed. “Drew is waiting outside. He will drive you back to the city.”
Realizing that pushing further tonight would break her carefully constructed facade, Natalie straightened her robe, her eyes flashing with a sudden, cold malice that she didn't bother hiding anymore.
“You’re making a terrible mistake, Victor,” she whispered, walking past him toward the door. “You think you can protect everyone by being a monster. But some monsters are already inside your walls.”
The door clicked shut behind her.
The room fell into a heavy, suffocating silence.
Victor turned back to Leo. The boy’s eyes were still fixed on the ceiling, but a single tear had slipped from the corner of his left eye, tracking down his cheek into his dark hair.
Victor reached out and gently wiped the moisture away with his thumb. His hand was shaking.
“Mr. Langley,” Nora said softly from the foot of the bed.
Victor looked up.
“Don't touch the IV bag,” Nora warned, stepping forward and placing her hand over the plastic tubing to stop him. “If you test what’s in that line without a neutral third party, her father’s judges will rule it a calibration error by morning. She didn't put poison in him tonight, Mr. Langley.”
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Victor’s eyes narrowed. “Then what did she do?”
“She gave him his dose,” Nora said, her voice dropping to a whisper so quiet the microphone in the bear probably couldn't catch it. “The dose that keeps him quiet. The dose that makes sure he never tells you who was driving the car the night your wife died.”
