Chapter 2 — The Vitamins
Marcus did not tell Elena about the envelope.
Not yet.
He kept the white capsule in his palm for several seconds, staring at it as though it might suddenly explain everything.
It didn't.
It only raised more questions.
Three months before the hallucination.
Three months before Elena began waking from nightmares.
Three months before Victoria became obsessed with proving that Elena was unstable.
And somewhere inside that same three-month window, Elena had apparently hidden a pregnancy test from him.
Marcus hated secrets.
But he hated the feeling in his stomach even more.
Someone was watching them.
Someone had entered his private office without forcing the door.
Someone had photographed Elena while she slept.
And someone knew about the vitamins.
He slipped the capsule into an evidence bag.
Then he locked it inside his desk.
Only after checking the office twice did he leave.
Elena was sitting in the greenhouse when Marcus found her.
She was surrounded by white orchids and climbing ivy, but she looked strangely detached from everything around her.
Her hand rested protectively over her stomach.
The sight should have calmed him.
Instead, it made him think about the warning.
Ask Elena what happened three months before the hallucinations began.
“Hey.”
Elena looked over.
Marcus sat beside her.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Elena asked:
“Did you find something?”
Marcus studied her face.
“What makes you think that?”
“Because you have that expression.”
“What expression?”
“The one you get when you're trying not to scare me.”
He almost smiled.
Almost.
“I'm investigating the tea.”
Elena's fingers tightened over her belly.
“And?”
“It contains several compounds that shouldn't be combined.”
Her face went pale.
“What compounds?”
“I don't know yet.”
“You think Victoria did this.”
“I think we need evidence before we accuse anyone.”
Elena looked down.
“Marcus.”
“Yes?”
“There is something I need to tell you.”
His entire body went still.
“What?”
She took a slow breath.
“About three months ago…”
A door slammed somewhere inside the estate.
Elena flinched violently.
Marcus turned toward the sound.
Nothing.
When he looked back, Elena was crying.
“What happened?” he asked.
She shook her head.
“I can't.”
“Can't what?”
“Tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because I don't know if it was real.”
Marcus's blood chilled.
“What wasn't real?”
Elena stared at him.
“For three nights, I heard a baby crying.”
Marcus said nothing.
“In this house.”
She wiped her cheek.
“Every night at exactly 2:13.”
“You never told me.”
“I thought I was dreaming.”
“And then?”
“It stopped.”
“When?”
“The night Victoria came into my room.”
Marcus's expression changed.
“What did she say?”
Elena looked toward the greenhouse doors.
“She asked me whether I wanted to know what happens to women who lose their minds in this family.”
Marcus felt something cold move through him.
“What exactly did she say?”
“I don't remember.”
“You just said—”
“I remember the feeling.”
Elena's voice cracked.
“She wanted me afraid.”
Marcus took her hand.
“I believe you.”
She looked at him.
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
“Even if I can't tell what happened?”
“Yes.”
He squeezed her fingers.
“Because now I know something happened.”
Across the estate, Victoria stood in the upstairs corridor.
She watched them through the glass.
Her expression was unreadable.
A maid approached.
“Mrs. Moretti?”
Victoria didn't turn.
“Yes?”
“The tea service has been delivered.”
“Good.”
The maid hesitated.
“Should I take it to Mrs. Moretti?”
Victoria finally looked at her.
“No.”
“Then where?”
“Leave it in the kitchen.”
The maid nodded.
Victoria waited until she disappeared.
Then she entered the kitchen.
The tea tray sat untouched.
Victoria opened the cabinet beneath the sink.
Inside was a small black case.
She removed it.
Opened the lid.
Three bottles rested inside.
One was labeled.
The other two were not.
Victoria stared at them.
Then she heard footsteps.
She quickly closed the case.
Marcus appeared in the doorway.
“Mother.”
Victoria smiled.
“Marcus.”
“What are you doing?”
“Making tea.”
“You don't usually make tea.”
“I do when I'm worried.”
“About Elena?”
Victoria's smile faded.
“About you.”
“Why?”
“Because you are becoming obsessed.”
“With what?”
“Your wife.”
Marcus stared at her.
“She had a hallucination last night.”
“I know.”
“You knew?”
Victoria raised an eyebrow.
“Everyone heard the commotion.”
“You were asleep.”
“I was.”
“Then how did you know what happened?”
A beat of silence.
Victoria looked away.
“You told me this morning.”
“I didn't.”
Victoria's eyes returned to him.
Marcus felt the room become colder.
Neither moved.
Finally Victoria said:
“You're imagining things now too.”
Marcus smiled without warmth.
“Maybe.”
He walked away.
Victoria watched him leave.
Then she whispered:
“You're getting closer.”
Marcus spent the afternoon at the private laboratory.
The technician met him personally.
He placed several reports on the table.
“We ran the sample three times.”
“And?”
“The formulation contains substances commonly used in nutritional supplementation.”
Marcus frowned.
“That's what you said.”
“But the ratios are wrong.”
“How wrong?”
“Wrong enough to cause problems.”
“What kind?”
The technician slid a report across the table.
“Neurological instability. Sleep disruption. Tremors. Anxiety. Confusion. In severe cases, hallucinations.”
Marcus stared at the page.
“Can it cause someone to believe an imaginary person is physically attacking them?”
“Yes.”
“Can it make them hold an object and believe it's something else?”
“Potentially.”
Marcus thought about the dining room.
Elena holding the glass.
Seeing Victoria.
The shattered table that had never been shattered.
The blood that had never existed.
Everything suddenly made horrible sense.
“What about pregnancy?”
The technician hesitated.
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“Dosage. Duration. The mother's health. The fetus's development.”
Marcus's voice hardened.
“Could it hurt the baby?”
“We can't tell you that without knowing the exact exposure.”
“But it could.”
“Yes.”
Marcus looked away.
His jaw clenched.
“Can you identify where these compounds came from?”
“We can identify the manufacturers.”
“Do it.”
The technician nodded.
“And Mr. Moretti?”
“Yes?”
“There is one more thing.”
“What?”
“The formulation isn't random.”
Marcus looked at him.
“What do you mean?”
“The compounds were mixed in a very specific order.”
“Meaning?”
“Whoever made this knew what they were doing.”
Marcus stared at the report.
This wasn't accidental poisoning.
It wasn't a careless mistake.
Someone had designed it.
Someone had calculated the effects.
Someone had wanted Elena frightened, exhausted and confused.
Someone wanted everyone around her to believe she was losing her mind.
That evening, Elena refused dinner.
Marcus found her standing in the bathroom.
She was staring at the mirror.
“Elena?”
She didn't answer.
He approached slowly.
“What are you doing?”
She pointed at the mirror.
“There.”
Marcus looked.
Nothing.
“What?”
“She was standing behind me.”
“Who?”
“Victoria.”
Marcus glanced at the doorway.
Empty.
Elena closed her eyes.
“I know.”
“What?”
“I know she wasn't there.”
Marcus's heart tightened.
“You're learning to separate the hallucination from reality.”
“No.”
Elena opened her eyes.
“I saw her.”
“Okay.”
“But this time…”
She swallowed.
“She said something.”
“What?”
Elena whispered:
“Your baby isn't yours.”
Marcus froze.
“What?”
“She said the baby isn't yours.”
“Elena.”
“I know it sounds crazy.”
“Did she say anything else?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“She said…”
Elena's face drained of color.
“She said you already knew.”
Marcus couldn't breathe.
For a few seconds, he couldn't move.
Then he forced himself to speak.
“I don't know anything about that.”
Elena stared at him.
“Do you?”
“No.”
“Marcus.”
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“I swear to you.”
Elena looked into his eyes.
And for the first time that night, the fear in her face wasn't caused by a hallucination.
It was caused by him.
Because there was something in Marcus's expression.
Not guilt.
Not exactly.
Recognition.
A fragment of a memory.
Three months ago.
A medical file.
A conversation he had dismissed.
A doctor who had asked him whether he was certain Elena had told him everything about her pregnancy.
Marcus had forgotten the question.
Until now.
At 11:52 p.m., Marcus went to the library.
He locked the door.
Then he opened an old cabinet containing the family's private medical records.
The Moretti family had maintained records for generations.
Births.
Deaths.
Illnesses.
Surgeries.
Genetic histories.
Marcus searched for Elena's name.
Nothing.
He searched again.
Nothing.
Her medical records weren't there.
That was impossible.
He searched under the estate's private physician.
Still nothing.
Then he found a folder with a handwritten label:
E.M. — CONFIDENTIAL
Marcus opened it.
The first page was blank.
The second contained a hospital receipt.
Three months old.
His heart began pounding.
He turned the page.
A single line appeared:
Pregnancy viability assessment — private consultation.
Marcus stared at the date.
Three months ago.
The exact week Elena had mentioned.
He kept turning pages.
Then he stopped.
A note from a doctor:
Patient advised to undergo follow-up testing due to irregular findings. Husband was not informed at patient's request.
Marcus's hands began to shake.
Elena had seen a doctor.
Without him.
About the pregnancy.
And she had specifically asked that he not be told.
He turned another page.
There was no diagnosis.
No explanation.
Just a handwritten note:
Patient became distressed when asked about paternity.
Marcus stopped breathing.
Paternity.
He read the word again.
And again.
Then he heard footsteps outside.
He quickly closed the folder.
The library door handle moved.
Marcus reached for the gun beneath his jacket.
The handle stopped.
A woman's voice came through the door.
“Marcus?”
Elena.
He lowered the gun.
Opened the door.
She stood there barefoot in a white nightgown.
Her face was pale.
“Why are you awake?”
He looked at her.
He couldn't tell her yet.
Not until he understood what he'd found.
“Couldn't sleep.”
Elena stared at him.
“Neither could I.”
“Why?”
She hesitated.
“Because I remembered something.”
“What?”
She looked toward the hallway.
Then whispered:
“The night I first heard the baby crying…”
Marcus waited.
“I wasn't alone.”
His blood turned cold.
“Who was with you?”
Elena looked at him.
“Your mother.”
The next morning, Marcus confronted Victoria.
She was in the east garden.
Pruning roses.
Calm.
Unhurried.
Almost peaceful.
“You were with Elena three months ago.”
Victoria didn't look up.
“I've been with Elena many times.”
“The night she heard a baby crying.”
The scissors stopped.
Only for half a second.
Then continued.
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
“She remembers you.”
Victoria smiled.
“Elena remembers many things.”
“You were in her room.”
“No.”
“Don't lie to me.”
Victoria finally looked at him.
“You're very angry.”
“Answer me.”
“Why?”
“Because someone is poisoning my wife.”
Victoria's expression didn't change.
“That's a serious accusation.”
“I know.”
“And you think it's me.”
“I think you're capable of it.”
Victoria placed the scissors down.
“Then why haven't you called the police?”
Marcus stepped closer.
“Because I don't have proof.”
Victoria smiled.
“There it is.”
“What?”
“The weakness.”
Marcus stared at her.
“You've always had it.”
“What's that supposed to mean?”
“You think evidence is the same as truth.”
She leaned toward him.
“Sometimes truth is what survives after the evidence disappears.”
Marcus felt a chill.
“What did you do?”
Victoria looked past him.
Toward the mansion.
“I protected this family.”
“You call poisoning Elena protection?”
Victoria's expression hardened.
“You have no idea what Elena brought into this house.”
“What does that mean?”
“She lied to you.”
“About what?”
Victoria's eyes met his.
“Ask her about the pregnancy.”
Marcus went completely still.
Victoria smiled.
“Ask your wife who the father really is.”
Then she walked away.
Marcus remained in the garden.
For the first time, he understood the true danger.
Victoria wasn't trying to convince him Elena was crazy anymore.
She was trying to make him doubt Elena.
And if Marcus stopped trusting his wife…
Victoria wouldn't need to touch Elena again.
That night, Elena sat alone in the nursery.
The room wasn't finished.
The walls were still bare.
A single crib stood beneath the window.
She touched the wooden rail.
Then froze.
There was something inside the crib.
A small white envelope.
Elena stared at it.
She hadn't put it there.
She opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
An ultrasound image.
She recognized it immediately.
Her first ultrasound.
Except there was something written across the bottom.
A date.
And beneath the date:
PATERNITY TEST PENDING.
Elena's hands began to tremble.
She turned the photograph over.
One sentence had been written on the back.
Victoria didn't poison you to kill your baby.
Elena stopped breathing.
Below it was another line.
She poisoned you because she was afraid you would remember whose baby it really is.
A floorboard creaked behind her.
Elena spun around.
No one.
The nursery door was open.
She stepped backward.
Her heart pounded.
Then she heard a whisper from the hallway.
“Elena.”
She froze.
It was Victoria's voice.
But this time…
Elena knew she wasn't hallucinating.
Because the security light beneath the door showed a shadow standing outside.
A real shadow.
May you like
Someone was there.
And whoever it was had just locked the nursery door from the outside.
