My heart raced. I had to keep it together. “My memory is just fine,” I said evenly. “Why do you ask?”
“Well, you’ve been forgetting things lately,” Michael said, his voice casual. “Last week, you forgot the neighbor’s name and left the stove on for hours. You’re sure everything’s okay?”
I forced a laugh, though it felt hollow. “I remember perfectly fine, Michael. I haven’t had any issues.”
“You’re right, Mom,” he said, flashing a grin. “Just a little forgetfulness. We’re all getting older, right?”
The way he said it made my blood run cold. But I kept my composure, not giving him the satisfaction of seeing my fear.
“We’re fine,” I said firmly. “And we don’t need anyone to worry about us.”
Emily smiled tightly, but I could see the flicker of unease in her eyes. “Of course,” she said. “We’re just concerned, that’s all.”
We spent another hour making small talk, but the tension in the room was suffocating. I could feel Emily and Michael watching me, waiting for some sign that we were onto them. But we stayed calm, playing our parts.
Finally, Michael glanced at his watch. “We should go. Early day tomorrow.”
I walked them to the door, my heart pounding in my chest. As they left, I felt a wave of relief wash over me. But I knew this wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.
Once they were gone, Robert and I sat down in the living room, both of us exhausted from the charade. We replayed the evening in our heads, analyzing every detail. They knew we were suspicious. They had to.
But we had made it through another night. For now, that was enough.
The next few days passed in a haze. The weight of what had happened, what we had learned, was heavy, suffocating even. I couldn’t stop thinking about the plan Michael and Emily had laid out so meticulously, the cold precision with which they had crafted our deaths. They had been so confident in their plot, believing we were just old and forgetful, easy targets. They didn’t know how wrong they were.
We didn’t go back to the house immediately after the dinner. The police had set up hidden surveillance cameras throughout the house, and we agreed to stay at a nearby hotel until we had everything in place. The plan was to gather enough proof so that when the time came, we could bring it all to the authorities, and Michael and Emily would face the consequences.
At the hotel, Robert and I sat in our small room, quietly going over everything. The events of the last few days had shattered our sense of security. The place we had once called home now felt like a prison, haunted by the knowledge of our son’s betrayal.
“I still can’t believe it,” Robert said softly, staring out the window. “Our own son, Susan. How did he become this person?”
I didn’t have an answer. There was no explanation that could make sense of what he had done. But we didn’t have the luxury of wallowing in disbelief anymore. We had to focus on survival.
The next morning, we visited Laura, our lawyer, to go over the next steps. She was a no-nonsense woman, and she understood the gravity of the situation. We needed more evidence—solid, irrefutable evidence that could be presented to the police and, eventually, in court.
“We have to act quickly,” Laura said as we sat in her office. “They are going to make their move soon. They’re already pushing the boundaries. We need to stay ahead of them.”
We agreed. The police had installed hidden cameras in the house, but they weren’t enough. We needed to be proactive. Laura arranged for a private investigator to monitor Michael and Emily’s every move. Meanwhile, Robert and I would gather whatever final pieces we could to ensure the case was airtight.
That afternoon, I received a call from the police.
“Susan, Robert, it’s Lieutenant Davis,” the voice on the other end said. “We have something. You need to come down to the station immediately.”
The urgency in his voice made my heart race. I turned to Robert, who was already standing, ready to go. We didn’t speak; we didn’t need to. We knew this was it. This was the moment everything would come to light.
When we arrived at the station, Lieutenant Davis was waiting for us. His expression was grim.
“We’ve been watching Michael and Emily,” he said, his voice low. “And we have proof. They’ve been planning something big.”
Davis led us into a small room where a monitor displayed footage from the hidden cameras in our home. We watched as Michael entered the kitchen, carrying two plastic bags. He moved with purpose, glancing around the room as though ensuring no one was watching. Then, he pulled out several bottles of pills and began mixing their contents.
I felt my stomach churn as I watched him prepare what looked like poison. He didn’t stop there. He opened a bottle of wine—the same wine he had brought to our house just days before—and poured a small amount of white powder into it. He shook it thoroughly, ensuring that it mixed in completely before sealing the bottle again.
“He’s been poisoning you slowly, Susan,” Davis said quietly, his voice tense. “The wine was the final act.”
I could barely breathe. The footage continued, showing Michael carefully placing the poisoned wine back into the bag, then moving to another part of the kitchen. He pulled out a small device, attaching it under the table—a hidden microphone or camera, likely intended to record any response we might give to the wine, to capture the moment of our supposed “accident.”
“Do you see this?” Davis asked. “We have enough to make an arrest.”
I nodded, though my mind was spinning. This was no longer a plot; it was an attempt on our lives. We had been living in a house full of lies, unaware of the danger lurking in every corner.
“What do we do now?” Robert asked, his voice shaky.
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