Chapter 2: The Little Bottle
Detective Ruiz stopped walking.
She turned back slowly, her eyes moving from Poppy to Preston.
"Mr.
Preston.
I'd like to see what's in your jacket pocket."
The room went very quiet.
Preston smiled — the kind of smile that doesn't reach the eyes.
"It's nothing.
A vitamin bottle.
Madeline takes them every morning."
"Then you won't mind showing me."
His jaw tightened.
For just a second, something moved behind his eyes.
Then he reached into his pocket and placed a small amber bottle on the bedside table.
Madeline stared at it.
That was not her vitamin bottle.
She had never seen it before.
Detective Ruiz pulled on a glove and picked it up.
No label.
No pharmacy stamp.
Just a faint residue coating the inside of the glass.
Poppy tugged at Madeline's blanket.
"Serena gave Mommy the milk," she whispered.
"But Daddy put the bottle in his pocket after."
Preston's voice dropped low and sharp.
"Poppy.
That's enough."
The little girl pressed her rabbit tighter and said nothing more.
Madeline looked at her husband — really looked at him — and felt something cold settle in her chest.
May you like
She had spent three years trusting this man with her life.
And somewhere in the last few hours, that trust had become the most dangerous thing in the room.
