Chapter 3: What the Laboratory Found
Three days passed before the toxicology report arrived.
Detective Mills sat beside my hospital bed while Dr. Shah reviewed the findings.
"The laboratory detected no evidence of poisoning," Dr. Shah said.
I blinked.
"So... the tea wasn't causing this?"
"No."
He shook his head.
"Your illness explains your symptoms."
Detective Mills leaned forward.
"That doesn't end our investigation."
He opened a notebook.
"We interviewed everyone who attended the party."
One coworker admitted he wanted to call 911 immediately but hesitated after Leo insisted I was pretending.
Another guest remembered Leo laughing about my "weekly medical drama" months before the collapse.
Even Freya admitted she had repeatedly dismissed my complaints as anxiety.
None of it was criminal.
But all of it painted the same picture.
Months of emotional manipulation.
Months of convincing everyone—including me—that my body couldn't be trusted.
Detective Mills looked at me.
"There's another issue."
He handed me a folder.
Inside were copies of insurance documents.
Six weeks before my collapse, Leo had quietly increased my life insurance policy.
He had listed himself as the sole beneficiary.
The increase itself wasn't illegal.
Neither was preparing my tea.
Neither was believing someone was exaggerating.
But together, the timing raised enough concerns for investigators to review every financial record.
The investigation lasted nearly four months.
Bank accounts.
Emails.
Phone messages.
Nothing showed that Leo had poisoned me.
But something else emerged instead.
He had been secretly transferring money from our joint savings into an account he never disclosed.
He had also forged my electronic signature on two loan applications.
Financial crimes.
Real ones.
When confronted with the evidence, he confessed.
"I thought she'd never notice," he admitted.
"I figured she'd keep believing she was sick and forgetful."
Those words hurt more than the diagnosis.
He hadn't caused my illness.
May you like
He had simply used it.
He had watched my health decline and decided it was an opportunity.
