Chapter 1
At four o’clock in the afternoon, a big black SUV drove through the front gates. Lillian walked into the house first, acting like a heartbroken mother.
“My poor baby!” she cried out as she ran to the bed. “I was only gone for a few days, and look how sick he is.”
She touched Paxton’s forehead, but her eyes immediately checked the room for three things: the pill bottle, the black notebook, and the wall camera.
Albert stood by the door and looked at his son. “He looks worse,” he said coldly. “What did you do to him, Nicole?”
“I only did exactly what you told me to do,” I answered calmly.
Raymond dropped his bags by the door and smiled. “The notes in the logbook will tell us the truth about that.”
Holden was the last one to come inside. His face looked completely white. He could not look at me, but as he walked past my chair, he muttered a small word.
“Sorry,” he whispered.
I did not say anything back. I knew he was just scared, and being scared did not make him innocent.
Lillian went to the kitchen and brought out the bottle of pills. “Did you take these like I told you to?” she asked.
“No, because I wanted to stay awake to look after my husband,” I said clearly.
For a second, her nice facial expression disappeared, and she looked furious. “I told you those pills were necessary for you.”
“And I decided I did not need them,” I replied.
Raymond stepped in between us. “Mom was just trying to help you rest, Nicole. Stop acting like everything is an attack.”
Soon, aunts, uncles, and wealthy neighbors arrived at the house. Lillian told everyone she wanted to surround her son with family love, but she really just wanted a crowd to watch me get blamed.
Dr. Hugh Emerson walked into the room too. He did not even look at Paxton. He just walked up to Albert and whispered, “Did she sign the papers yet?”
“Not yet,” my father-in-law whispered back.
I heard them perfectly, and the hidden microphone on my clothes recorded every word.
Lillian suddenly opened the pill bottle in front of everyone. She took out a capsule, broke it open, and poured a strange grey powder onto the table.
Then, she let out a loud, fake scream.
“This is not the medicine I bought for him!” she shouted to the crowd. “Someone changed the pills in the bottle!”
Everyone turned around and stared at me with angry faces.
“Nicole was the only person staying in this house,” Raymond told the guests. “She controlled the food, the medicine, and the keys.”
Kelly took a step forward to say something, but Albert stopped her with a scary look. “You are just a worker. You will speak only when I ask you a question.”
Dr. Emerson picked up the bottle with his bare hands. “If the patient took these wrong chemicals every day, it would explain why his brain condition is worse.”
“How can you know that without testing them in a real lab?” I asked him loudly.
“I have years of medical experience,” he snapped.
“Is that the same experience you used to write a report saying Paxton could not wake up, without ever doing a real medical test on him?” I asked.
The doctor turned pale and shut his mouth.
Raymond pointed his finger at my face. “Stop lying, Nicole. The family left town and you stayed here alone. We know your mother has huge debts and your brother is begging for money. You wanted his fifty-five million dollar insurance policy.”
Right then, I realized why they had spread rumors in my hometown. They wanted to create a fake reason for the police.
“My mother does not owe a single dollar to anyone,” I said back. “And my brother has never asked for any money.”
“The police will decide who is lying,” Albert said as he stood up.
He pulled a blue folder out of his jacket. The paper inside stated that I had total control over Paxton’s care, gave him all his medicines, and allowed the family to take over Paxton’s company.
“Sign this paper right now,” he ordered.
I read the lines out loud to the room. “This paper also says I give up my right to challenge the life insurance money.”
“It is just standard paperwork to protect our family money,” Albert said.
“Which family are you protecting?” I asked loudly. “The son who is suffering in this bed, or the family that already calculated how much money they get when he dies?”
The relatives in the room started whispering in shock.
Lillian put her hand over her heart. “How can you say something so horrible to us?”
“It is horrible to print a death certificate for a man who is still breathing,” I said directly to Raymond.
Raymond froze for a second, and that proved he knew about it. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“Then you can explain to the police why his name is on a death certificate dated before his actual accident,” I said.
Albert hit the floor hard with his cane. “Stop this nonsense! You are tired, and you are losing your mind. Take your medicine, go to bed, and sign the paper.”
“I will never take anything from this family,” I said.
Raymond walked up to me until he was standing right in front of my face. “Listen to me, Nicole. You can sign this paper like a good wife, or you can leave this house in handcuffs for trying to kill your husband.”
“What if I say no to both?” I asked him.
His smile disappeared instantly. “You do not have a choice here.”
He grabbed my wrist tightly. Albert placed a black ink pad right next to the paper.
“Your fingerprint is enough to make it official,” Albert said.
The relatives looked down at the floor. I realized that bad people do not need brave helpers, because a room full of quiet cowards is enough to let bad things happen.
Raymond pulled my arm down toward the ink pad by force. “Sign it now.”
“Let go of me!” I screamed.
“Stop making a scene,” he growled.
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“You started this scene when you sent that poisoned smoothie to his workshop!” I shouted.
Lillian yelled, “She is crazy! Call the police right now!”
