Chapter 2 - THE MAN WITH THE SILVER RING
Marcus looked at Sophia as if she had spoken in a language he didn't understand.
"What man, sweetheart?"
His voice was gentle.
Too gentle.
Sophia hid behind her mother.
Alina wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"She gets confused sometimes," Alina said.
I looked at her.
"Does she?"
Alina's eyes filled.
"Mr. Cross, please."
I understood that tone.
It wasn't a request for patience.
It was a request for mercy.
I turned to Marcus.
"Go to the security office."
He frowned.
"Sir?"
"Wait there until my attorney arrives."
"You're not seriously taking a child's accusation—"
"Marcus."
My voice dropped.
"Do not make me repeat myself."
For a moment, he looked as if he might refuse.
Then he nodded.
"Of course, boss."
He walked out.
I watched him go.
The two guards exchanged uneasy glances.
"You're dismissed," I told them. "Stay available for the police."
When the room emptied, Alina began trembling.
I pulled out a chair.
"Sit down."
She shook her head.
"I can't."
"Why?"
"Because if I sit down, I might not get back up."
I didn't understand until she started crying.
Not quietly.
Not politely.
She covered her face and sobbed as if she'd been holding the tears inside for months.
Sophia climbed onto her lap.
"Don't cry, Mommy."
I stood helplessly.
I could negotiate with killers.
Threaten politicians.
Move millions of dollars before breakfast.
But I had no idea what to do with a frightened woman and a child who thought her mother was breaking.
So I did the only sensible thing.
I brought them water.
Dr. Samuel Whitaker arrived twenty minutes later.
He examined the bottle without opening it further.
"Damian, do not take anything from this container."
"I hadn't planned to."
He studied the label.
"The dispensing information doesn't match the pharmacy's current format."
"Can you identify the pills?"
"Not by appearance alone. They need laboratory testing."
I nodded.
"And my regular dose?"
"We'll verify your prescription directly with the pharmacy and arrange a safe replacement."
For the first time that morning, I breathed normally.
Whitaker looked at Sophia.
"You're the one who noticed?"
She nodded.
He smiled.
"Very observant."
Sophia looked serious.
"Boss was going to eat the wrong blue."
Whitaker glanced at me.
"That's one way of putting it."
After the physician left, I called my attorney, Julian Mercer.
Julian had represented me for thirteen years.
He was one of the few people who could tell me I was being an idiot and survive the conversation.
I explained what had happened.
He listened.
Then said, "Preserve the medication, call the police, and don't conduct your own interrogation."
I stared at the phone.
"Marcus may have tried to kill me."
"Then don't give his defense attorney a reason to challenge the evidence."
I hated when Julian was right.
Which was often.
By noon, investigators had arrived.
The medication was collected for examination.
The delivery records were preserved.
The security footage was copied.
And Marcus was interviewed.
He denied everything.
Alina refused to speak while he remained nearby.
I didn't blame her.
When an investigator asked whether she wanted to make a statement privately, she nodded.
Sophia stayed with a child-support specialist in another room.
I waited in the hallway.
Forty minutes later, Alina emerged.
Her face was pale.
She looked at me.
"I'm sorry."
I frowned.
"For what?"
"For not telling you sooner."
I took a breath.
"Tell me now."
She looked toward the investigators.
Then whispered:
"Marcus isn't the one who started this."
My blood turned cold.
"Who did?"
May you like
Alina swallowed.
"Your brother."
