Chapter 3 - Pretending to Die
At 10:42 that night, I was lying in my own bed pretending to be poisoned.
There are moments when fear is so intense it becomes strangely quiet.
That night was one of them.
Detective Cole had wanted Owen out of the house.
I agreed immediately.
Whitney took him to her sister’s home twenty miles away under police protection. Only three people knew where he was.
Before leaving, Owen wrapped both arms around my waist.
“You’re coming tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
“Promise?”
I crouched until we were eye level.
“I promise.”
He stared at me for several seconds.
Then he whispered, “Dad promises things too.”
The words cut deeper than any accusation could have.
So I took his hand and placed it against my chest.
“I’m not asking you to trust promises anymore. I’m going to prove it.”
He nodded.
Then Whitney led him away.
By ten, the house looked ordinary again.
That was intentional.
One lamp burned in the hallway.
My handbag rested on the kitchen counter.
The brown bottle sat beside a half-empty glass of water in my bedroom.
One capsule had been removed.
Detective Cole had replaced it with an evidence marker.
Two officers were hidden in the guest wing.
Another team waited outside the property.
A small recording device had been placed near my bed.
I wore a loose sleep shirt and lay beneath the covers.
My instructions were simple.
Do not move unless necessary.
Do not confront David.
Do not try to be brave.
At 10:58, headlights moved across the bedroom ceiling.
My entire body stiffened.
The front gate opened.
A vehicle rolled up the driveway.
Car doors shut.
Then silence.
A minute later, the front door opened downstairs.
David’s voice drifted upward.
“Adrianna?”
I closed my eyes.
Footsteps crossed the marble foyer.
Maggie spoke next.
“Maybe she’s asleep.”
My heart hammered so hard I was sure the microphones could hear it.
David entered the bedroom.
I smelled his cologne before I felt the mattress shift.
His hand touched my cheek.
“Adrianna?”
I let my head roll slightly toward him.
He shook my shoulder.
Not hard.
Just enough to test me.
“Baby?”
No response.
Then his hand moved beneath my nose.
Checking my breathing.
My stomach twisted.
David stood.
“She took it.”
Maggie entered.
“How can you tell?”
“The capsule’s missing.”
For three terrible seconds, neither of them spoke.
Then Maggie laughed softly.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Just a satisfied little breath.
“Finally.”
My nails dug into my palms beneath the blanket.
David walked toward the dresser.
“Don’t say that yet.”
“Oh, stop being nervous.”
“You heard Leonard. One dose isn’t enough.”
Leonard.
The man from the recording.
Maggie lowered her voice.
“Then give her another one.”
My blood went cold.
David answered quickly.
“No. Too risky.”
“You’re the one who insisted we come back.”
“Because I need those papers signed before she gets worse.”
Papers?
A drawer opened.
Then another.
“What are you looking for?” Maggie asked.
“Her company seal.”
“Why?”
“The board authorization needs it.”
Maggie scoffed.
“You told me Franklin already handled that.”
“Franklin handled the draft. We still need something that looks legitimate.”
I recognized the name.
Marcus Franklin.
My company’s outside counsel.
My father had hired him almost thirty years earlier.
He had attended my wedding.
He had held Owen at his christening.
Another piece of my life cracked.
Maggie suddenly said, “Where’s the boy?”
David stopped moving.
“I thought he’d be in his room.”
My chest tightened.
“Go check.”
Footsteps left the bedroom.
I wanted to sit up.
I wanted to run.
Instead, I remained motionless.
A minute later, David returned quickly.
“He’s not there.”
Maggie’s voice sharpened.
“What?”
“His bed’s empty.”
“What about the maid?”
“Her room too.”
Silence.
Then David came back to the bed.
His fingers closed around my wrist.
I almost reacted.
He checked my pulse.
“Something’s wrong.”
Maggie whispered, “Maybe Whitney took him somewhere.”
“At eleven at night?”
“She could have gone to the store.”
“With Owen?”
I could hear suspicion spreading through his voice.
Then he did something I never expected.
He slapped my cheek.
Hard.
My head snapped sideways.
Every instinct in my body screamed at me to move.
I didn’t.
“Adrianna.”
Another slap.
My eyes remained shut.
Maggie hissed, “David, stop.”
“She should be more responsive.”
“What if the dose worked faster?”
“It doesn’t work like that.”
There was a pause.
Then David whispered:
“She didn’t take it.”
My pulse exploded.
Maggie said, “What are you talking about?”
“I know my wife.”
He leaned closer.
So close that I could feel his breath against my face.
“She twitches in her sleep.”
I didn’t move.
“She always does this thing with her left hand.”
I had never known he noticed.
His hand reached for mine beneath the blanket.
My fingers were clenched.
Too still.
Too controlled.
David stepped back.
“Get the bottle.”
Maggie moved toward the nightstand.
That was when Detective Cole spoke from the doorway.
“I wouldn’t touch that.”
Everything happened at once.
Maggie screamed.
David spun around.
I sat upright.
Two officers entered from the hallway.
David’s face emptied completely.
For one second, he didn’t look angry.
He looked astonished.
Then he looked at me.
“You.”
I had never heard so much hatred packed into one word.
Detective Cole raised her badge.
“David Solomon, keep your hands where I can see them.”
Maggie backed toward the wall.
“What is this?”
“Police investigation.”
“For what?”
Detective Cole looked at me.
I answered.
“Attempted murder.”
Maggie’s face drained.
David recovered first.
He actually laughed.
“That’s insane.”
Detective Cole held up an evidence bag containing the capsules.
“We’ll see.”
David turned to me.
“Adrianna, whatever Whitney told you—”
“Don’t.”
“Listen to me.”
“For seven years?”
His mouth closed.
I swung my feet onto the floor.
“For seven years, you convinced me our son couldn’t speak.”
He glanced toward the door.
“Where is Owen?”
My entire body went still.
David stepped toward me.
“Where is my son?”
Detective Cole moved between us.
“He’s safe.”
David’s jaw tightened.
“You have no legal right to hide my child from me.”
Detective Cole’s eyes hardened.
“Your son had sedatives in his bloodstream.”
For the first time, David lost control.
He looked toward Maggie.
It lasted less than a second.
But Detective Cole saw it.
So did I.
Maggie began shaking her head.
“No. No, that has nothing to do with us.”
David snapped, “Stop talking.”
The room went silent.
Detective Cole smiled without warmth.
“Excellent advice.”
One officer moved toward David.
“We need you to come with us.”
But Detective Cole stopped him.
“Not yet.”
I stared at her.
She had warned me earlier that the evidence might not yet support every charge. The memory card was powerful, but they still needed authentication, laboratory confirmation, and warrants.
David understood that too.
His confidence slowly returned.
“You can’t arrest me because my wife staged some melodramatic bedroom scene.”
“No,” Cole said.
“Then get out of my house.”
I stood.
“My house.”
David looked at me.
I had signed the deed years before our marriage.
He knew it.
That didn’t stop him from smiling.
“Are you sure about that?”
Something in his tone made my stomach drop.
“What does that mean?”
Maggie whispered, “David.”
He ignored her.
“You should call your lawyer, Adrianna.”
“Which lawyer? Marcus Franklin?”
His smile disappeared.
I had hit something.
Detective Cole noticed.
David slowly buttoned his jacket.
“You’re making a very serious mistake.”
“No,” I said.
“I made my serious mistake nine years ago when I married you.”
He walked toward the door.
Detective Cole stopped him.
“You’re not leaving the county.”
David looked amused.
“Am I under arrest?”
“Not at this moment.”
“Then good night.”
He left.
Maggie followed him.
At the top of the staircase, she turned back.
The sweet maternal expression was gone.
“You should have taken the capsule.”
Then she walked away.
One of the officers stared after her.
“Did she seriously just say that?”
Detective Cole’s face was grim.
“Yes.”
My phone suddenly rang.
It was my attorney.
Not Marcus Franklin.
My personal estate attorney, Elaine Porter.
I answered.
“Elaine?”
“Adrianna, thank God.”
She sounded breathless.
“What happened?”
“I just received an emergency electronic filing with your name on it.”
“What filing?”
“A transfer agreement.”
My mouth went dry.
“For what?”
There was a pause.
May you like
Then Elaine said:
“According to the document, you signed away controlling interest in Solomon Construction to David three days ago.”
