Chapter 8 - The Final Gambit
The mahogany table in the Rollins estate’s private dining room was a battlefield, and Sabrina stood at the head of it, armed with a dossier thicker than a brick. She felt a surge of intoxicating power—the kind that comes only when the blinders are finally ripped away. She had the forger’s confession, the accountant’s ledger, the DNA results, and the audio recordings. She had dismantled the conspiracy brick by brick, and now, she intended to watch it crumble.
The board of directors sat in their high-backed leather chairs, their faces pale under the cold, fluorescent lights. They were men who usually ignored her, treating her as a decorative accessory to the family empire. Today, they shifted in their seats, their eyes darting toward Kenneth, who sat at the opposite end of the table, sweating profusely. Maya sat beside him, her hands clasped so tightly her knuckles were white.
Sabrina opened her folder and placed the DNA results on the table. The room fell silent.
"I’ve been lied to," Sabrina said, her voice cutting through the air like a knife. "By my husband, by my brother, by the woman who raised me."
She looked toward the double doors where her mother-in-law, Ethel, was supposed to be waiting to be wheeled in for the final presentation. "Where is Ethel?" Sabrina asked, her eyes narrowing.
The heavy oak doors swung open. Ethel Rollins walked in.
For years, Sabrina had played the role of the dutiful daughter-in-law, smiling while Ethel muttered incoherent nonsense and waved her hands at empty air. But as the doors clicked shut, Ethel stood straight, her spine rigid. She didn't shuffle; she marched. She stopped in front of Sabrina, her gaze sharp, devoid of the dementia that had plagued her for a decade.
Sabrina froze. The mother’s lucidity was the missing piece she hadn't anticipated, but it only fueled her confidence. She had the truth, and she had the mother. She picked up her coffee cup, intending to offer a toast to transparency, her heart pounding with the thrill of victory.
Suddenly, Ethel clutched her chest. Her eyes bulged, rolling back into her head. She let out a wet, gargling sound and collapsed onto the Persian rug.
"Mother!" Sabrina dropped her folder and lunged forward, but the room was already in motion. Security guards rushed in, their faces masks of concern. Kenneth screamed for a doctor.
Within minutes, sirens wailed outside. The police had been called, and officers were already swarming the room, cordoning off the area. A detective in a sharp suit approached Sabrina, his expression unreadable.
"Ms. Rollins," he said, his voice flat. "You have a lot of explaining to do."
Sabrina’s mind raced. "I didn't do anything! She just collapsed—"
"She was poisoned," the detective interrupted, holding up a small vial. "And we found traces of a powerful sedative in the coffee cup you dropped. The toxicology report is already coming back positive."
"No," Sabrina whispered, horror washing over her. "That’s impossible. I didn't put anything in it."
"That’s not all," a voice said from the crowd.
Sabrina looked up. Justin was standing near the buffet table, holding his phone. He looked terrified, but his eyes were darting toward the detective with a strange, desperate intensity.
"Sabrina," Justin said, his voice trembling. "I... I saw everything. I saw her put the powder in the cup. I tried to stop her, but she was so fast."
"Justin, you're lying," Sabrina cried out, reaching for him. "You know I would never hurt her."
Justin flinched as if he’d been struck. He looked at her with a mixture of pity and cold resolve. He took a step back and handed his phone to the detective. "I recorded it. Just now. While she was... while she was struggling."
The detective nodded, swiping through the screen. A satisfied smirk played on his lips. He looked at Sabrina, and the smirk twisted into a sneer.
"I'm sorry, sister," Justin said, stepping closer, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper that only she could hear. "I'm sorry, but you have to take the fall for the family."
Before Sabrina could process the betrayal, the detective grabbed her arm. "Ms. Rollins, you're under arrest for attempted murder."
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As Sabrina was handcuffed, the heavy doors behind her burst open. Kenneth stood there, his face twisted in a mask of cold triumph. He looked at Justin with a nod of respect, then turned his gaze to Sabrina, his eyes dead and empty.
"You should have stayed silent, Sabrina," he whispered. "Now, you're going to prison for the rest of your life."
