Chapter 5 - Slow the Recovery
Madeline stepped into the kitchen.
The floor creaked.
Andrew turned.
Their eyes met.
His face emptied of color.
Elise screamed and pulled the robe closed around herself.
Madeline picked up the brown bottle.
“Madeline,” Andrew said carefully. “You weren’t supposed to be home yet.”
Elise stared at her eyes.
“Andrew… she can really see.”
Madeline examined the bottle.
The label had been applied carelessly. It did not carry her name, a pharmacy number, or a valid prescription.
Only three handwritten words:
Night dose — slow recovery.
“For two years, you were giving me this.”
Andrew stepped closer.
“Put it down. You don’t understand what it is.”
“I understand the label.”
“That bottle isn’t yours.”
“It sat beside my bed.”
Elise moved off the table.
“Andrew told me the drops were harmless.”
He looked toward her sharply.
“Stop talking.”
Madeline’s phone vibrated in her coat pocket.
A message from Dr. Bell appeared.
Do not return home alone. Test results confirm deliberate exposure to a medication that may have slowed visual recovery. Contact police immediately.
Madeline raised the screen.
“The doctor confirmed intentional poisoning.”
Andrew’s expression collapsed.
He reached toward the bottle.
May you like
Madeline stepped backward.
For the first time since losing her sight, she watched fear enter his face before he could disguise it with words.
