Chapter 19 - WHO CHOSE THE BIRTHDAY
Less expensive.
More ordinary.
"You have five minutes."
"You still think I planned the party."
"You paid Rusk."
"I planned the attack."
"Same thing."
"No."
"I wanted Ethan sick at home. Quiet. Plausible."
My stomach turned.
"Then why the ballroom?"
"Rusk changed the timing."
"Why?"
"Someone paid him extra."
Torres placed phone records between us.
A second payment had gone to Rusk.
Not from Martin.
From a shell account connected to Raymond Shaw.
Shaw denied it.
The account was opened using stolen identification.
Torres traced the IP address.
Moretti estate.
My home.
The login happened from the guest Wi-Fi during party setup.
"Who was here?" I asked.
Dozens of staff.
Vendors.
Family.
Then Lily solved it again.
Not deliberately.
She was coloring in Torres's office while Sophia gave another statement.
On the television, an old news clip showed Martin's arrest.
Lily pointed.
"Crown man."
Torres crouched.
"Yes."
"Cold-room voice."
We all turned.
"Who?"
She pointed at Dr. Harris.
My family physician.
I felt the floor disappear.
Harris was questioned that afternoon.
He denied everything.
Then Torres played a recovered audio message from Rusk's phone.
A calm male voice said:
Do it at the party. Harris will be there. He can control the response.
He had gambling debts.
Martin knew.
Rusk knew.
But Harris's motive was not money alone.
Years earlier, Vittorio had promised him a stake in a private medical venture.
After Vittorio died, I canceled the project.
Harris believed my family owed him millions.
He obtained the allergen concentrate through medical channels and gave it to Rusk.
Martin funded the attack but expected a controlled incident.
Harris chose the birthday because he wanted public chaos.
He wanted me humiliated.
He told himself Ethan would be treated in time.
"You tested the cake."
His eyes filled.
"I knew the amount."
"You said he had seconds."
"He did."
"You let me hold my son while knowing you helped put it there."
Harris began crying.
I felt nothing.
Then Torres said, "There's enough."
As officers led him away, Lily looked up at me.
"Was the doctor bad?"
"He made a very bad choice."
"More than one."
She was right.
The trial began six months later.
May you like
But by then, the most important decision had already been made.
Ethan wanted a birthday.
