Chapter 4 - The Bitter Tea
While Mark and Ethan waited in agonizing suspense, Detective Grant drove to Linda Cole’s house on the other side of town. The porch light was on. Linda answered the door in her dressing gown, looking perfectly calm.
“Officers? Is everything alright?” she asked, playing the part of the concerned grandmother.
“Rachel Cole is in the ICU,” Olivia said coldly. “And we need you to come with us.”
In the interrogation room, Linda’s facade finally cracked under Olivia’s relentless questioning. She didn’t view herself as a monster. In her twisted mind, she was the protector of her son and her grandson.
“She was erasing my first daughter-in-law,” Linda hissed, her hands shaking as she clutched a paper cup of water. “She was taking over the house. Changing the rooms. Ethan was miserable. I just… I just wanted to give the boy some peace. I crushed up some of my old sleep medication and put it in her tea. Just to make her sleep. Just to show Mark she was too weak to handle a second child.”
“You gave a toxic dose of barbiturates to a woman who is eight months pregnant,” Olivia said, slamming her palms on the table. “You didn't just put her to sleep, Linda. You stopped her heart.”
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Linda stared at the metal table, the gravity of her actions finally sinking in. “Is… is the baby…”
“You are under arrest for attempted murder,” Olivia said, signaling the officer at the door.
