The house settled into an uneasy truce. Hicks ordered his men to secure the perimeter but not to interfere inside. They moved with a practiced, silent efficiency, their heavy boots making no sound on the hardwood floors. Marcus paced the foyer, occasionally shooting me glares that promised retribution.
Leo found me in the kitchen, still examining the blue solution. He pulled out a chair, the scrape of wood on tile loud in the quiet.
“Dad,” he started, his voice barely a whisper. “Did you… did you know this was happening?”
I swirled the glass, watching the blue liquid cling to the sides. “I’ve been feeling… off. Small things. For weeks. Misplacing items, forgetting dates, even moments from yesterday.”
I met his gaze. “Marcus was always good at playing the long game.”
He scrubbed a hand over his face. “He said you were getting worse. He showed me medical logs.”
“Those logs,” I said, pointing at the pill bottle. “Were likely as real as the medication in here.”
Twist: Arthur realizes his daily prescription bottles have been swapped with mild disorientation pills to induce symptoms mimicking dementia.
“How long?” Leo asked, his voice raw.
“Hard to say,” I admitted. “A slow drip. Not enough to incapacitate, but enough to erode confidence, to make me doubt myself. And make you doubt me.”
Marcus appeared in the kitchen doorway, leaning against the frame. “Touching family moment, but it changes nothing, Arthur. Hicks may be cautious, but the deed is notarized. You signed it, lucid or not.”
“It’s a forgery, Marcus,” I said, my voice flat. “And we both know it.”
He shrugged. “Prove it.”
Hicks walked in, carrying a tablet. “Syndicate Auditor Sikes will be here by dawn. He’ll review the documentation. And a team is en route to analyze these pills.”
“Good,” I said, looking at Marcus. “Let them.”
Leo stood up. “I need to check my dad’s medicine cabinet, Hicks. If Marcus swapped these, there might be other evidence.”
Marcus tensed. “That’s my private residence now, Leo. You have no right.”
“It’s my father’s health,” Leo retorted, his voice gaining an edge I hadn’t heard in years. “And he’s not delusional.”
Hicks held up a hand. “Let him. If the pills are compromised, anything else could be too. I’ll accompany him. For security.”
Marcus glared, but he couldn’t argue with Hicks. The enforcer’s word was law within these walls, for now.
Leo and Hicks disappeared upstairs. I watched Marcus. He picked up a stray coffee mug from the counter and squeezed it until his knuckles turned white. He was losing control, and he knew it. This wasn’t the clean takeover he’d planned.
I poured the blue liquid down the drain. The faint chemical smell lingered.
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