Alyssa: That is slander! That is criminal defamation! I will have you sued for fifty million dollars[cite: 1]!
Ethan: Elena, do you realize what kind of accusation you are making right now[cite: 1]?
Elena: I have the medical toxicology report right inside my pocket, Ethan[cite: 1]!
Ethan: My father's autopsy report concluded death by natural coronary failure three years ago[cite: 1]!
Elena: The autopsy report your family saw was signed by Dr. Harrison, Alyssa's personal uncle[cite: 1]!
Elena reached into the hidden side pocket of her black uniform apron, pulling out a sealed blue folder[cite: 1].
She tossed it onto the glass coffee table, right beside the puddle of melting ice cubes[cite: 1].
Elena: Open it, Ethan. Look at the real lab results from Johns Hopkins[cite: 1].
Alyssa lunged forward, her manicured fingers clawing at the folder before Ethan’s hand clamped around her wrist like steel[cite: 1].
Ethan: Don't touch it, Alyssa[cite: 1].
Alyssa: Ethan, darling, please! She forged those documents to break up our upcoming marriage[cite: 1]!
Ethan: Let go of my arm, Alyssa[cite: 1].
Ethan picked up the folder with his left hand, his fingers trembling as he broke the wax seal on the flap[cite: 1].
Inside lay a twenty-page forensic pathology analysis stamped with the official seal of the state medical examiner[cite: 1].
Ethan: Digitalis toxicity... High-concentration potassium chloride injections[cite: 1]...
Elena: Your father was paralyzed in his wheelchair for eight months before his death, Ethan[cite: 1].
Ethan: He couldn't even lift a glass of water without assistance[cite: 1]...
Elena: And who prepared his evening tea every single night in the west wing kitchen, Ethan[cite: 1]?
Ethan’s eyes slowly drifted up from the medical report, locking onto Alyssa's terrified face[cite: 1].
Alyssa: I was taking care of him! I was showing him that I would be a devoted daughter-in-law[cite: 1]!
Ethan: You were giving him drops of heart medication that slowly stopped his pulse[cite: 1]!
Alyssa: Dr. Harrison prescribed those drops! He said it was for his blood circulation[cite: 1]!
Elena: Dr. Harrison lost his medical license in California ten years ago for prescribing illegal narcotics, Alyssa[cite: 1]!
Ethan: You told me Harrison was the chief of cardiology at Dallas General[cite: 1]!
Alyssa: He had an administrative misunderstanding! It had nothing to do with your father's health[cite: 1]!
Elena: And what about the eighty-million-dollar inheritance trust fund, Alyssa[cite: 1]?
Alyssa's breath hitched, her jaw clenching as her sequined gown caught the glare of the chandelier[cite: 1].
Alyssa: That trust fund belongs to the legal wife of the Sterling heir! That was Arthur's dying wish[cite: 1]!
Elena: Arthur Sterling amended that trust fund three days before he died, Alyssa[cite: 1].
Ethan: My father updated his will without informing our corporate lawyers[cite: 1]?
Elena: He didn't trust his lawyers, Ethan. He called Sarah into his bedroom while you were overseas[cite: 1].
Toby: Mama... Mama cold[cite: 1]...
Elena wrapped her apron tighter around the baby, rubbing his small, shivering shoulders to restore his circulation[cite: 1].
Elena: He knew Alyssa was poisoning him, Ethan. But he was too weak to fight back before the paralysis took over[cite: 1].
Ethan: Why didn't Sarah tell me? Why didn't she tell me the second I landed back in Texas[cite: 1]?
Elena: Because Alyssa threatened to kill Sarah's unborn baby if she spoke a single word to you[cite: 1]!
Ethan dropped the folder onto the table, his knees buckling slightly as the horror of his past three years settled over his shoulders[cite: 1].
Ethan: My God... What have I done[cite: 1]?
Alyssa took two steps toward the hallway entrance, her eyes darting frantically toward the heavy front doors[cite: 1].
Ethan: Marcus, lock those doors. Nobody leaves this room until the homicide detectives arrive[cite: 1].