Chapter 3 - SEVEN VISITS AFTER MIDNIGHT
The nursery footage was worse than Damian expected. In six recordings, Viviana entered after Grace had gone to bed. She stayed between four and twelve minutes. On three occasions, Grace sat upright when Viviana left, clutching her blanket and staring at the door.
The seventh recording showed Viviana carrying a small bottle. She placed it on the nightstand, spoke to Grace, and left without taking it away.
“Do we know what's in the bottle?” Damian asked.
“Not yet,” Adrian replied. “The night nurse says Viviana told her it was a vitamin supplement.”
“Where is it now?”
“In the nursery cabinet. We haven't touched it.”
Damian instructed Adrian to secure the bottle for testing. Then he went upstairs. Grace was awake, sitting beside Lara with a picture book open in her lap.
“Daddy,” she said, “are you going to send Lara away?”
“No.”
“Even if Viviana says she is bad?”
“Especially then.”
Grace seemed to consider this. “Viviana said Lara wanted to steal me.”
Damian sat on the edge of the bed. “Has she said that before?”
“Lots of times. She said you would send me to boarding school if I kept being difficult. She said Lara would go away and I would have to be good.”
Damian felt a cold weight settle in his chest. “Did she ever give you medicine?”
Grace nodded toward the nightstand. “The sleepy drops. She said I needed them because I asked too many questions.”
Lara's face drained of color.
“Did you take them?”
“Sometimes. They tasted sweet.”
Damian called Dr. Patel. She advised that the bottle be tested and that Grace receive no further doses unless prescribed by her own physician.
That evening, the laboratory confirmed the liquid contained a sedating antihistamine in a concentration inappropriate for unsupervised use in a six-year-old. The substance could cause drowsiness and confusion.
“Who prescribed it?” Damian asked.
“No prescription was found,” Adrian said. “The bottle came from a private pharmacy. We are tracing the purchase.”
Damian walked into the sitting room where Viviana waited.
“You've been avoiding me,” she said.
“I've been reviewing the security footage.”
Her smile faltered. “You can't seriously be doing this because of a child's misunderstanding.”
“Did you give Grace medication?”
Viviana's expression changed for only a fraction of a second. “It's a supplement.”
“It's a sedating medication.”
“She has trouble sleeping.”
“Her doctor never prescribed it.”
Viviana folded her arms. “You are making me sound like a criminal.”
“I'm asking you a question.”
“She needed rest. You weren't here. Someone had to manage her.”
Damian stared at her. “You were not authorized to give my daughter medication.”
Viviana's eyes filled. “I was trying to help.”
“Then why did you tell her Lara was going to be taken away?”
Viviana said nothing.
“Until this is investigated, you will not be alone with Grace. You will stay in the guest wing. Adrian will arrange for you to collect your personal belongings under supervision.”
Her tears stopped. “You can't do this to me. Our wedding is in six weeks.”
“There will be no wedding until I know exactly what happened in this house.”
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For the first time, Damian saw what Grace had been trying to show him: beneath Viviana's beautiful smile was a woman furious that someone had finally refused to obey her.
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