Chapter 5 - Tea for Two
Dr. Adrian Kessler arrived at Ashcroft Manor before noon.
Marcus did not invite him.
Victoria did.
At least according to the message Kessler showed at the gate.
Elena watched from the upstairs window as his silver Mercedes stopped beneath the front portico.
He climbed out wearing a charcoal coat and carrying a medical case.
Marcus stood beside her.
“He doesn’t know we found the video.”
“Good.”
“Caleb wants us to let him talk.”
Elena looked at her husband.
“And you?”
“I want to put him through a wall.”
“That would make his lawyer happy.”
Marcus almost smiled.
Almost.
They met Kessler in the morning room.
He was fifty-eight.
Silver hair.
Perfect teeth.
The careful warmth of a doctor who had spent decades convincing wealthy people they were special.
“Elena.”
He opened his arms slightly.
“I heard you had a difficult evening.”
Elena remained seated.
“From whom?”
Kessler paused.
“Victoria.”
“When?”
“This morning.”
“What time?”
“Around nine.”
Marcus leaned against the fireplace.
“Interesting.”
Kessler looked between them.
“Is something wrong?”
Elena placed one white capsule on the table.
“Do you recognize this?”
Kessler did not touch it.
“No.”
“Try again.”
“I don’t identify medication by appearance.”
“You gave them to Victoria.”
“No.”
“She said you formulated them.”
Kessler’s expression remained smooth.
“Victoria may have misunderstood.”
Marcus stepped forward.
“My wife’s blood contains an experimental neurological compound.”
That got a reaction.
Tiny.
But real.
Kessler’s eyes flicked toward Elena.
“What compound?”
“We were hoping you could tell us.”
“I have no idea.”
Marcus placed the photograph from the hidden room beside the capsule.
Kessler’s face tightened.
The photograph showed him standing behind the six bottles.
“That proves you handled them.”
“It proves I stood beside containers.”
“You really want to play this game?”
Kessler sighed.
“Those were nutritional supplements developed for a private wellness study.”
“For pregnant women?”
“No.”
Elena felt rage rise.
“You gave them to me.”
“I did not.”
“You knew Victoria was giving them to me.”
“No.”
“Then why is my name on the bottles?”
Kessler said nothing.
Marcus moved closer.
“Answer her.”
Kessler looked toward the doorway.
Caleb stood there.
The doctor finally sat.
“There was a research project.”
Elena waited.
“It involved compounds intended to reduce severe anxiety responses.”
“What compound?”
“NRX-41.”
“Was it approved?”
“No.”
“For pregnancy?”
“Absolutely not.”
Elena’s fingers curled.
“Could it cause hallucinations?”
“At certain concentrations.”
“Memory problems?”
“Yes.”
“Dissociation?”
Kessler swallowed.
“Yes.”
Marcus’s voice dropped dangerously.
“You let someone feed an unapproved neurological drug to my pregnant wife.”
“I did not authorize that.”
“Then how did Victoria get it?”
Kessler hesitated.
That was enough.
Marcus grabbed the front of his coat.
“Marcus!”
Elena shouted.
Marcus shoved Kessler back into the chair but released him.
Kessler straightened his collar.
“I provided Victoria with prototype samples two years ago.”
“Why?”
“She invested in the company developing them.”
Elena stared.
“Victoria financed the drug?”
“Yes.”
Marcus looked stunned.
“Why didn’t I know?”
“Because the investment was private.”
Elena thought of the whispering speakers.
The hidden passages.
The manipulated cameras.
Nothing about this was impulsive.
Victoria had planned.
For months.
Possibly years.
“Why me?”
Elena asked.
Kessler shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I knew Victoria disliked you.”
“She hated me.”
“I did not know she was administering NRX-41.”
Marcus put both hands on the table.
“If you’re lying—”
“I’m telling you the truth.”
Caleb spoke from the doorway.
“Then you won’t mind giving us your research files.”
Kessler’s eyes shifted.
“Those are confidential.”
Marcus laughed once.
There was no humor in it.
“My wife was drugged with your experimental compound.”
“I would need authorization.”
“You’ll get a subpoena.”
Kessler stood.
“Then call me when you have one.”
Elena watched him close his medical case.
He moved toward the door.
Then stopped.
“Mrs. Ashcroft.”
Elena looked up.
“If you’ve been exposed repeatedly, you may experience symptoms even after stopping.”
“What symptoms?”
“Dream intrusion.”
“Meaning?”
“Dreams that continue after waking.”
Elena felt a chill.
“Anything else?”
Kessler looked directly at her.
“You may become unusually suggestible under extreme stress.”
Marcus stepped between them.
“That’s enough.”
Kessler left.
Caleb waited until the front door closed.
“He lied.”
“About what?”
Elena asked.
Caleb held up a tiny recorder.
“When Marcus grabbed him, he whispered something.”
“What?”
Caleb replayed the audio.
Kessler’s voice was barely audible.
“She wasn’t supposed to use Batch Seven.”
Marcus frowned.
“Batch Seven?”
Elena looked at the six bottles in the photograph.
“There were six bottles.”
Caleb nodded.
“Which means there was another one.”
Ruth entered carrying a tray.
Her face was pale.
“Mrs. Ashcroft?”
Elena turned.
The housekeeper placed a silver teapot on the table.
“I think you need to see this.”
“What is it?”
“I found it in Mrs. Victoria’s private pantry.”
Ruth lifted the lid.
Inside were dozens of individual tea sachets.
Each marked with a date.
Elena recognized the handwriting.
Her own name appeared across every packet.
Caleb put on gloves.
He opened one.
Fine brown tea leaves spilled onto a plate.
Mixed among them were tiny white crystals.
Marcus looked at Ruth.
“How long have you been serving this?”
Ruth began crying.
“Every night.”
Elena felt as if the room were closing around her.
“Who told you to?”
“Mrs. Victoria.”
“Did you know what was in it?”
“No.”
Ruth shook violently.
“She said it was a vitamin powder.”
“How long?”
“Since your twelfth week.”
Elena’s eyes moved toward her belly.
Five months.
Five months of tea.
Five months of drugs.
Marcus put his arm around her.
Ruth suddenly gripped the edge of the tray.
“There’s something else.”
Elena looked up.
“What?”
“Mrs. Victoria never drank tea with you.”
“I know.”
“No.”
Ruth shook her head.
“You don’t understand.”
“She switched cups.”
Elena stared.
“Every time you thought you saw her drinking from the same pot, she had me bring her another cup from the kitchen.”
Marcus whispered.
“Why make Elena think she was drinking it too?”
Ruth’s answer was simple.
“So Mrs. Elena would never become suspicious.”
A phone rang.
Not Marcus’s.
Not Elena’s.
The old black phone from the nursery began ringing inside Caleb’s evidence bag.
Everyone froze.
Caleb removed it.
UNKNOWN CALLER.
He answered on speaker.
For several seconds, there was only static.
Then Victoria spoke.
“Good afternoon, Elena.”
Elena’s hands went cold.
Marcus moved toward the phone.
Victoria continued.
“You’ve been very busy.”
“Where are you?”
Marcus demanded.
Victoria ignored him.
“Elena, I imagine you’re frightened.”
Elena forced herself to speak.
“You poisoned me.”
“No.”
“You drugged me.”
“I helped you reveal yourself.”
Marcus slammed his fist against the table.
“You stay away from my wife.”
Victoria laughed softly.
“Oh, Marcus.”
A pause.
“You still think this is about your wife.”
Elena felt the baby move.
“What is it about?”
Victoria finally answered.
“The child.”
The line disconnected.
Before anyone could speak, Caleb’s laptop made a sound.
A new email had arrived.
Attached was a legal document.
PETITION FOR EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE GUARDIANSHIP OF AN UNBORN ASHCROFT HEIR.
The petitioner was Victoria Ashcroft.
May you like
And attached to the filing were ninety-three pages of photographs, recordings, medical notes, and witness statements describing Elena as unstable, violent, delusional, and potentially dangerous to her unborn child.
The file had been prepared six months before Elena’s first hallucination.
