Chapter 14 - THE EVIDENCE OF MALICE"SHE DRUGGED THE FORMULA!"
Clara’s voice cut through the chaos like a shattered windowpane.
She came down the stairs slowly, her face pale but her posture erect and fearless. She held the baby bottle tightly in a sealed clear plastic bag, along with a small digital test strip she had retrieved from her veterinary medical kit in the hall closet.
The caseworker and deputies looked up in surprise. Expected to find a hysterically sobbing, unkempt woman in the middle of a breakdown, they instead saw a composed mother holding verified scientific evidence.
"Clara..." Arthur breathed, rushing to her side and placing his large hand on her back, his body instantly forming a protective barrier between his wife and the officers.
Clara held up the sealed bag toward the senior deputy.
"This is the formula delivered to our porch an hour ago," Clara said, her voice clear, steady, and loud enough to echo across the lawn. "The bottle was laced with Benzodiazepine-7—a heavy neurological sedative that causes hallucinations, disorientation, and extreme lethargy."
Eleanor’s performative crying stopped instantly. Her green eyes widened in sheer, naked panic.
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"She... she's lying! She's delusional!" Eleanor shrieked, her aristocratic voice cracking hysterically. "Inspect her blood! Test her now!"
"I already tested the liquid with my veterinary field reagent strip," Clara said coldly, holding up the indicator card, which had turned a bright, undeniable magenta—the universal indicator for chemical contamination. "And I checked the porch security camera feed from our doorbell. The delivery man wasn't from Elm Street. He drives a black sedan registered to Vance Investigative Services."
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