Chapter 4 - A Bullet In The Greenhouse
Mr. Hayes looked completely different from the polite estate manager who had handed Adrian the envelope an hour ago. His eyes were cold, calculating.
“Step away from the box, Adrian,” Hayes ordered.
Adrian didn’t flinch. He stood tall, shielding me slightly behind him.
“You poisoned Evie,” Adrian stated. It wasn't a question.
“Just a few drops of digitalis in her nighttime tea,” Hayes said smoothly. “Enough to mimic a stroke in a woman her age. It’s a shame Sophie here knew the symptoms so quickly. Vivian was supposed to stall until it was too late.”
“Vivian is part of this?” I blurted out.
Hayes chuckled darkly. “Vivian is the architect, my dear. Her family is bankrupt. Marrying Adrian was the only way to save them. But Adrian is too smart. He holds his assets tight. We needed leverage.”
Hayes pointed the gun down at the child’s blue coat.
“We found your brother, Adrian. Little Leo. Your father didn't let him die. He hid him to keep him away from this life. When Vivian found him, she realized he was the perfect insurance policy.”
“Where is he?” Adrian demanded, his voice a low growl.
“Safe. Waiting for Vivian’s family to take custody once you tragically pass away in a robbery gone wrong tonight.” Hayes raised the gun toward Adrian’s head.
I didn't think. I just reacted.
I grabbed the heavy iron trowel from the dirt and hurled it at the glass wall behind Hayes.
The greenhouse glass shattered with a deafening crash.
Hayes flinched, turning toward the noise for a fraction of a second.
Adrian moved with terrifying speed. He lunged forward, grabbing Hayes’s wrist and twisting it upward. The gun went off with a muffled pfft, shattering a clay pot above our heads.
Adrian struck Hayes in the jaw with his free hand. Hayes collapsed into the dirt, out cold.
Adrian stood over him, breathing heavily. He picked up the gun and checked the chamber. Then he looked at me.
“Are you hurt?” he asked.
“No,” I lied. My hands were trembling violently.
Adrian pulled out his phone and dialed a number. “Marco. Bring three men to the greenhouse. Clean up a mess. And lock down the estate. No one leaves.”
He hung up and knelt beside Hayes, searching the man’s pockets.
He pulled out a crumpled receipt.
Adrian’s face darkened. He handed it to me.
It was a receipt for a private charter plane at O'Hare Airport. Scheduled for midnight tonight.
“They’re taking Leo out of the country,” Adrian said. He checked his watch. It was 10:45 PM.
“We have to go to the airport,” I said, starting toward the door.
“No,” Adrian stopped me. “You’re a civilian, Sophie. I’m sending you home with a guard.”
“I’m not leaving,” I said, staring him down just like I had with Vivian. “Leo knows me from the clinic. If he sees a bunch of men with guns, he’ll run. He trusts me.”
Adrian studied my face for a long moment. Finally, he nodded.
As we rushed out of the greenhouse, I stepped on something hard near where Hayes had fallen. I picked it up.
It was a heavy silver rosary.
I gasped. “Adrian… this is Evie’s rosary. But she was wearing it when the ambulance took her. I saw it.”
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Adrian looked at the beads. “If Evie had it at the hospital… how did it get here?”
TITLE: The Imposter At The Hospital
