Chapter 9: What Naomi Put in the Coffee
The door opened just wide enough for a hand to appear.
Darius rose so quickly that his chair scraped across the floor.
"Who's there?""
The door swung shut.
Footsteps hurried away down the corridor.
Darius ran outside.
A nurse pushing a cart nearly collided with him.
"Sir, you can't run through the ward!""
"Did you see someone leave this room?""
The nurse looked startled.
"A man in a gray coat. He went toward the elevators.""
Darius sprinted down the corridor.
He reached the elevator just as the doors began closing. Through the narrowing gap, he saw a man with dark hair and a gray coat staring directly at him.
For one second, neither moved.
Then the man lifted two fingers in a casual salute.
The doors closed.
Darius slammed his palm against the elevator button.
"Come on!""
When the doors reopened, the elevator was empty.
He rushed downstairs, checked the lobby, and pushed through the main entrance.
Outside, traffic moved steadily along the hospital road. A delivery truck blocked part of the driveway. A woman hurried past with a child in her arms.
The man was gone.
Darius stood beneath the entrance canopy, breathing hard.
His phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number.
*Stop asking about Edward Cole's death. You have already lost enough.*
He stared at it.
Then another message arrived.
*Ask Naomi what happened at 9:42 p.m.*
Darius slowly lowered the phone.
His father's official time of death.
He returned to Elena's room and found Tanya standing beside the bed, holding the handwritten note.
"Did you see anyone?"" she asked.
"A man left the ward. He was waiting outside the room.""
"Did you recognize him?""
"No.""
Tanya looked at the note again.
"Naomi and Dad. Coffee. The night he died.""
Darius rubbed his face.
"She admitted she was there. But she never said she gave him anything.""
Elena shifted against the pillows.
"Naomi brought him coffee.""
Both siblings turned toward her.
"What?"" Darius asked.
Elena's eyes were heavy with exhaustion, but her voice remained clear.
"Your father told me once. He said Naomi had brought him coffee during a late meeting. He was joking about how she made it too sweet.""
Darius sat down.
"When did he tell you that?""
"A few days before he died. We were at your apartment. He called to ask whether you were coming home for dinner.""
Darius remembered the call.
His father had sounded cheerful that evening. He had teased Darius about spending too much time at work and not enough time with the people who loved him.
"Did he say anything else?""
Elena hesitated.
"He said Naomi had been asking questions about his medication.""
Tanya's mouth fell open.
"Why would she ask about that?""
"Your father had been having trouble sleeping," Elena replied.
"He was taking prescription medication. Naomi offered to help him organize it because he kept forgetting whether he'd taken his evening dose.""
Darius stared at her.
"Why didn't you tell me this before?""
"Because I didn't know it mattered. I thought she was helping him.""
Tanya slowly sat beside the bed.
"If Naomi was at Dad's house that night, and she brought him coffee...""
Darius finished the sentence.
"Then we need to know whether she gave him something.""
He took out his phone and called Detective Harris.
The detective answered on the second ring.
"We've located the vehicle that left the Hale property two hours before the officers arrived. It belongs to a company registered to Grant Mercer.""
"Any sign of Lucas?""
"Not yet.""
Darius closed his eyes briefly.
"I need to tell you something about my father's death.""
He explained the note, the coffee, and Elena's recollection.
Detective Harris listened without interrupting.
When Darius finished, the detective said, "We need to verify this through records and witness statements. Don't confront Naomi on your own.""
"She knows something.""
"That doesn't mean she killed your father.""
"I didn't say she did.""
"You were thinking it.""
Darius looked at Tanya.
She gave him a small, grim nod.
Detective Harris continued.
"We're checking the original death investigation. If there was evidence of medication misuse, we may be able to find it in the archived medical records.""
"What about the safe-deposit box?""
"Tomorrow morning, we go together. Until then, stay with your family and keep your phone on.""
Darius ended the call.
Elena watched him.
"Do you hate her?""
He knew immediately who she meant.
"Naomi?""
Elena nodded.
Darius thought about the woman he had once trusted with his future. The woman who had held him while he cried after Elena disappeared. The woman who had told him he deserved better.
"I don't know what I feel anymore.""
Elena looked toward Maya, who had fallen asleep in the chair.
"Don't let what she did turn you into someone you don't recognize.""
He sat beside her.
"She stole eight years from us.""
"I know.""
"She stole our children.""
Elena's eyes filled.
"I know.""
"And she might have been involved in my father's death.""
Elena reached for his hand.
"Then find the truth. But don't let revenge become the only thing you have left.""
Darius held her hand until she drifted back to sleep.
He wanted to promise her that everything would be fine.
But promises had become dangerous things.
Instead, he kissed her forehead and whispered, "I'll find Lucas.""
At 11:30 p.m., Naomi arrived at the hospital.
She stood outside Elena's room in a black coat, her hair hidden beneath a knitted hat. She had removed her wedding ring, but a pale mark remained on her finger.
Darius stepped into the corridor before she could enter.
"You're not going in there.""
Naomi looked exhausted.
"I need to speak to Elena.""
"You've had eight years to speak to her.""
"Please.""
He almost laughed.
"Now you want to ask permission?""
Naomi's eyes filled with tears.
"I know what you think I did.""
"Do you?""
"Yes.""
"Then tell me what happened at 9:42 p.m. the night my father died.""
Naomi went completely still.
For several seconds, the only sound was the distant ringing of a telephone at the nurses' station.
Finally, she whispered, "Where did you hear that?""
"Answer the question.""
Naomi looked toward the closed hospital room door.
"Your father was already unconscious when I found him.""
Darius felt his pulse quicken.
"You found him?""
"I went to his house after our meeting. He wasn't answering his phone, and I was worried.""
"You said you were with him that night.""
"I was. Earlier.""
"Did you bring him coffee?""
Naomi swallowed.
"Yes.""
"Did you put anything in it?""
Her face crumpled.
"No.""
Darius stared at her.
"Look me in the eyes and say it again.""
She lifted her gaze.
"I didn't put anything in his coffee.""
For the first time, Darius believed she might be telling the truth.
But before he could ask another question, Naomi reached into her coat and pulled out a folded receipt.
"I found this in Martin's office after your father died. I kept it because I didn't understand it.""
Darius took it.
The receipt was from a pharmacy, dated the afternoon of his father's death. It listed a prescription medication, purchased under a name he didn't recognize.
At the bottom was a signature.
Grant Mercer.
Darius looked up.
"Why would Grant buy medication for my father?""
Naomi shook her head.
"I don't know.""
"Then why bring this to me now?""
"Because Grant contacted me tonight.""
Darius felt a chill.
"What did he say?""
Naomi's voice dropped.
"He said Lucas had the recording. He said if I wanted to protect you, I needed to stop you from opening the safe-deposit box.""
"Protect me from what?""
Naomi stared at the receipt.
"From learning who really killed your father.""
Darius gripped the paper.
"You're saying Grant did it?""
"I'm saying Martin believed his son had done something terrible. And before Martin died, he told me he had evidence that could put Grant away for the rest of his life.""
Darius studied her face.
"Why would Grant take Lucas?""
"Because Lucas has the recording.""
"And what does it contain?""
Naomi began to cry.
"I don't know. But Martin told me it was the one thing that could destroy his son.""
Darius stepped closer.
"Where is Lucas?""
Naomi shook her head.
"I don't know.""
"Who has him?""
"I don't know!""
Her voice broke.
Then she reached into her pocket and removed a small photograph.
It showed Lucas sitting beside Grant in a car. On the back was a handwritten address.
Darius recognized the location immediately.
It was a private airfield twenty miles outside the city.
He looked at Naomi.
"Why do you have this?""
"Because Grant sent it to me with a message.""
"What message?""
Naomi wiped her cheeks.
"He said he was leaving the country tonight.""
Darius stared at the photograph.
"And Lucas?""
Naomi's lips trembled.
"He said Lucas was coming with him.""
Darius turned toward the elevators.
Naomi caught his arm.
"There's something else.""
He looked back.
She swallowed hard.
"Grant isn't just trying to hide what happened to your father.""
Her eyes locked on his.
"He's trying to find the original records because they prove Lucas isn't the only child Martin helped steal.""
Darius froze.
"What does that mean?""
Naomi's voice dropped to a whisper.
"Martin had another secret adoption file. Another child. Another family.""
She pressed a trembling finger against the photograph.
"And if Grant finds that file before you do, you'll never discover what really happened to your children.""
Darius pulled away and ran toward the elevators.
Behind him, Naomi shouted his name.
He didn't stop.
For the first time, he knew exactly what he had to do.
Find Lucas.
Open his father's box.
And uncover the truth before another child disappeared into the lies that had destroyed his family.
But as the elevator doors closed, his phone vibrated one final time.
A new message.
A voice recording from an unknown number.
He pressed play.
His father's voice filled the elevator, faint and unsteady.
"Darius, if you're hearing this, then Martin has betrayed us. Don't trust Naomi. Don't trust Vivian. And whatever you do, never believe the story about the second child...""
The recording ended with a sharp crash.
Then came a woman's voice.
Naomi's voice.
May you like
And the words that made Darius's blood turn to ice.
"Edward, please. You weren't supposed to find out that the boy was yours.""
