Chapter 5 - THE POISON HIDDEN IN THE NURSERY
The first laboratory results arrived shortly after midnight.
Dr. Bennett requested a private meeting.
Lorenzo, Hunter, and Marco gathered in the study.
Bennett placed several pages on the desk.
"I want to be careful about what these findings mean," she began. "We've detected a medication-related compound in retained samples from Leo's prepared feeds."
Lorenzo's expression went blank.
"What compound?"
"A sedating drug that should never have been added to his milk."
Hunter covered her mouth.
Bennett continued.
"The concentration varied between samples. It may explain some of his lethargy and feeding difficulties, although we still need to investigate his other medical problems."
Lorenzo's hands closed into fists.
"Someone was drugging my son."
"Someone appears to have contaminated his feeding supplies."
"Who?"
"We don't know yet."
Marco stepped forward.
"We found missing security footage."
Lorenzo turned.
"How much?"
"Six nights."
"From where?"
"The nursery corridor."
Hunter felt a chill.
Six nights.
Six opportunities.
Six times someone could have entered Leo's room without leaving a visible record.
Bennett looked toward Lorenzo.
"We've contacted the appropriate medical authorities and law enforcement. The retained samples and records need independent forensic handling."
Lorenzo's jaw tightened.
Normally, he would have resisted outsiders entering his house.
But he looked toward Hunter.
She had asked him for justice.
Not vengeance.
"Cooperate," he told Marco.
Marco nodded.
After Bennett left, Lorenzo remained behind his desk.
Hunter stood near the fireplace.
"You knew something was wrong," he said.
"I knew he was hungry."
"You saved his life."
"The doctors are saving his life. I'm helping."
Lorenzo looked at her.
"Why won't you let me thank you?"
Hunter's eyes filled.
"Because if I accept that I saved him, I have to ask why I couldn't save Lily."
The words escaped before she could stop them.
Silence followed.
Lorenzo came around the desk.
"Hunter."
She shook her head.
"I heard her heartbeat that morning."
Her voice broke.
"I had an appointment. The doctor said everything looked good. I bought a little yellow blanket afterward because I thought she might be cold when we brought her home."
Lorenzo said nothing.
"And then Tommy pushed me."
Her hands trembled.
"I keep thinking there must have been something I could've done."
Lorenzo approached slowly.
"You didn't push yourself down those stairs."
She looked at him.
"You weren't there."
"No."
His voice softened.
"But I know what it's like to survive something and spend every day wishing you could trade places with the person who didn't."
Hunter began crying.
Not quietly.
Not gracefully.
She cried with the terrible exhaustion of someone who had spent too long holding herself together.
Lorenzo stood helplessly for a moment.
Then he opened his arms.
Hunter stepped into them.
He held her.
Nothing more.
No promises.
No sudden declarations.
Just two grieving people standing beside a dying fire, recognizing a pain neither could explain.
The next morning, Leo's condition improved.
He had tolerated several carefully monitored feedings, and his medical team began planning a gradual nutritional recovery.
For the first time, his weight stabilized.
Hunter smiled when Bennett shared the news.
Lorenzo watched from the doorway.
He had not seen anyone smile in that nursery since Sophia's death.
The sight frightened him.
Hope had become dangerous.
Later that afternoon, Marco brought another discovery.
The night nurse's real name was not Rebecca Collins.
It was Natalie Vance.
Tommy's older sister.
Hunter stared at the identification photograph.
"I met her once."
"When?" Lorenzo asked.
"At Tommy's birthday party. Two years ago."
"Did she recognize you?"
Hunter thought back to the nursery.
The sleeping woman.
The wineglass.
The way she had protested when Hunter fed Leo.
"She must have."
Marco nodded grimly.
"She used a forged nursing license to get hired here."
Lorenzo turned toward the window.
"Find her."
"We're trying."
"Try harder."
Then Marco's phone rang.
He listened.
His expression changed.
"Boss, we found Halloran's car."
"Where?"
"Near the marina."
"And Halloran?"
Marco swallowed.
"Missing."
A second message arrived.
This one contained a video.
Marco played it.
Dr. Halloran sat tied to a chair in a dark room.
His face was bruised.
Someone stood behind the camera.
A distorted voice spoke.
"Mr. Rossi, you have been looking in the wrong direction."
Halloran lifted his head.
His lips trembled.
Then he said something that made Lorenzo grip the edge of the desk.
"Sophia wasn't the intended target."
The screen went black.
May you like
A final message appeared.
THE BOMB WAS MEANT FOR THE BABY.
