The Trap Tightens
Chapter 09 - The Trap Tightens
By the next morning, Victoria had filed an emergency petition asking the court to recognize the transfer agreement. Her lawyers claimed Evelyn's accusations proved she was unstable and that Leah was exploiting her for money.
The petition included a video from the gala.
In the edited clip, Leah appeared to slip something beneath Evelyn's shawl before grabbing Victoria's wrist. The angle was convincing. The missing seconds showed Leah adjusting a dropped napkin, but those frames had been removed.
News outlets played the clip without question.
Harrison watched it in the library with a face full of doubt. "Tell me this is false."
"It is false," Leah said.
Victoria stood near the fireplace, calm and sorrowful. "Harrison, she came into our lives during chaos. She gained Evelyn's trust, moved into this house, and brought her brother into confidential records. How much more evidence do you need?"
Leah looked to Daniel, but he had been called away by the audit committee. Detective Reed was waiting on warrants. For the first time since the gala, she stood alone.
Harrison's voice broke. "I cannot risk Evelyn's safety. You need to leave."
The words hurt more than Leah expected. She packed her suitcase while Evelyn protested from her room. Two security guards escorted Leah to the front steps.
Then a crash sounded upstairs.
Evelyn had collapsed beside her bed.
Dr. Patel found a dangerous sedative in her morning tea. It was not part of any prescription. The cup had been delivered by a newly hired maid using Victoria's written instructions.
The maid insisted she had only followed a tray card.
Harrison confronted Victoria in the hall. She denied writing it and accused Leah of returning upstairs to poison Evelyn before leaving.
But Leah had never been out of the guards' sight.
The lie finally failed.
Harrison ordered security to detain Victoria. She smiled, opened her purse, and handed him a court order granting her temporary authority over Evelyn's medical care until the hearing.
Conrad had obtained it twenty minutes earlier using the altered gala video and Harrison's signed transfer agreement.
An ambulance from Northstar Patient Services arrived at the gate.
"Evelyn will be safer at the clinic," Victoria said.
Leah stepped between the paramedics and the bedroom door.
May you like
This time, Victoria did not raise her hand.
She raised a judge's order.
