The Truth Revealed

The Truth Revealed
POV Sage Winters

I raised my hand and began ticking off fingers. "Who has had access to Lyanna these past few days? Caius. Me. Thorne. Vivienne. Elena. And Celeste."

I paused. "Those are our suspects."

Celeste's mask never wavered, but her throat worked as she swallowed.

Elena's breathing became shallow and rapid.

"Now let's talk about alibi. Thorne and I were in Greywood for the past two days. We only returned this morning." I noticed Celeste's expression flicker slightly when I mentioned Greywood. "So we weren't present when the poisoning occurred."

"Vivienne doesn't have medical training. She wouldn't know about drug interactions. She loves her grandmother. So she's eliminated."

Edwin's expression showed relief mixed with continuing anger.

"Caius had absolutely no motive. He's Lyanna's primary surgeon. If he wanted to harm her, he could have done so during the operation itself. So he's eliminated."

I let the silence stretch.

"That leaves two people with both medical knowledge and opportunity." My eyes moved between Elena and Celeste. "Two people who understand pharmacology. Who had access to Lyanna's medications. Two people who might have reasons to want me discredited."

Thorne's voice was cold as ice. "The Ashford Pack does not tolerate traitors. Whoever did this will face Pack justice. And I promise you, it will not be merciful."

Edwin stepped forward, his face flushed with rage. "If I find out who poisoned my mother, I swear I will personally ensure they suffer for it."

Caius's contribution was quieter but somehow more menacing. "You're both medical students, right? Well, then I will personally see to it that the guilty party is blacklisted from every medical institution in the country. Her career will be over."

I let their words hang in the air, building pressure.

Then I spoke again, my voice deliberately gentle. "If the person responsible comes forward now, there might be room for leniency. Lyanna is alive. She's stable. If someone admits what they did, shows genuine remorse—we might be able to find a path forward."

I paused. "But if we have to uncover the truth ourselves..." My voice dropped lower, colder. "Then there will be no forgiveness. No mercy. No second chances. This is your one opportunity to show you have any shred of conscience left."

Celeste's expression remained perfectly composed. Her hands shook almost imperceptibly at her sides.

But Elena was crumbling.

Her face had gone from pale to gray. Sweat beaded on her forehead. Her breathing came in short, rapid gasps. Her eyes darted frantically between Celeste, me, Caius, and the door.

Thorne's voice cut through. "Vivienne. Tell us who gave you those lies about Sage and Caius."

Edwin moved toward his daughter. "If you know something, you need to speak up. Right now."

Vivienne's eyes flickered—just for a heartbeat—toward Celeste.

She shook her head, her voice defiant despite the tears. "I don't know what you're talking about. I formed my own opinions. No one manipulated me."

The lie was transparent.

Before anyone could push harder, Elena made a sound somewhere between a sob and a scream.

Her legs gave out.

She dropped to her knees on the hard floor with a crack, her hands coming up to cover her face as her entire body shook with violent tremors that seemed to originate from somewhere deep within her chest.

"I'll tell! I'll tell everything! Please, just—I can't—"

She was hyperventilating now, words tumbling out between gasping breaths that made her shoulders heave.

But before she could continue, Vivienne's voice cut through the chaos like a blade, sharp and commanding despite the underlying note of panic. "Elena! What are you babbling about?!"

Her eyes locked onto Elena's with an intensity that bordered on desperation, and I caught the subtle shake of her head, the slight narrowing of her gaze—a clear warning, a plea for silence wrapped in the guise of confusion.

But Elena's resolve had already fractured beyond repair.

She lifted her tear-streaked face, her expression transforming from terror to something harder, more defiant as she met Vivienne's gaze head-on. "I can't take this anymore, Vivienne! I'm a medical student! My family has been in this profession for three generations! You can't expect me to sacrifice my family's legacy and my entire future for the sake of friendship!"

The words came out raw and desperate, but beneath the desperation was steel—the self-preservation instinct of someone who'd finally realized the stakes were too high.

Vivienne's face drained of color, her eyes widening with betrayal before they hardened into something cold and venomous. "Traitor!"

Elena flinched but didn't back down, instead drawing in a shuddering breath and straightening her shoulders as if physically bracing herself for what came next.

I stepped forward, my voice calm but carrying the weight of absolute authority. "Tell us everything you know, Elena. Don't leave out a single detail."

Elena nodded jerkily, wiping at her face with the back of her hand before taking another steadying breath that still hitched slightly in her chest. "It was Celeste who started all the rumors about you and Dr. Rivers. She's the one who told both Vivienne and me that you two were having an affair, that you were using your relationship with him to secure your position in Ashfords."

I felt Caius stiffen beside me, his jaw tightening, but I kept my focus locked on Elena.

"Vivienne asked me to help take care of Lyanna," Elena continued, her words coming faster now as if a dam had broken. "She said her grandmother needed round-the-clock medical supervision and that she trusted me because of my medical background. I prepared all of Lyanna's medications—I created a comprehensive medication schedule based on her post-hemorrhage treatment protocol."

She paused, swallowing hard. "The three of us—Vivienne, Celeste, and I—we agreed to take turns watching over her. Everything was fine for the first two days. Lyanna's vitals remained stable, she was resting comfortably, showing good signs of recovery."

Her voice cracked slightly. "But this morning, less than an hour after she took her eight AM dose, she suddenly crashed. The symptoms came on so fast—the tremors, the confusion, the spike in blood pressure..."

I leaned forward slightly, my voice sharp. "What exactly did you prescribe for her?"

Elena's hands twisted together in her lap as she recited the list with the precision of someone who'd memorized every detail. "Low-dose anticoagulants—specifically warfarin at two point five milligrams once daily. It's standard protocol for hemorrhage patients once the acute bleeding has stabilized, because prolonged bed rest significantly increases the risk of pulmonary embolism. I also prescribed neurological supplements to support brain healing, standard vitamins, and anti-seizure medication as a precautionary measure."

Caius spoke up, his professional tone cutting through the tension. "I personally reviewed Elena's medication protocol when she first implemented it. The formulation was sound—carefully balanced to prevent clot formation without risking rebleeding. There was absolutely no ginkgo biloba or any other natural blood thinners in the prescription."

Elena's head snapped up, relief flooding her features. "Yes! Exactly! I swear on my medical license that I would never make such a basic, dangerous mistake. The interaction between anticoagulants and ginkgo is one of the first things we learn in pharmacology—it's pharmaceutical basics!"

Her breathing quickened again as a new realization seemed to dawn across her face. "The first two days, everything was completely normal. Lyanna took her medications without any adverse effects. Her recovery was progressing exactly as expected. But the only thing that changed was..."

She turned slowly, her eyes locking onto Celeste with growing horror and understanding.

"Last night was your shift," Elena said, her voice strengthening with certainty even as it shook with anger. "You were the one watching Lyanna from midnight until eight AM. I arrived right at eight to administer her morning medications, and within an hour, she crashed."

Her hands clenched into fists. "You did something to my medication organizer. You had to have! That's the only explanation for why she was fine for two days and then suddenly deteriorated so dramatically!"