Chapter 6 - The Poison in the Rose
Vance’s thumb pulled back the internal hammer of the pistol with a faint, deadly click. " bluffing won't save you, Arthur. Your private security team was relieved of duty twenty minutes ago by my men."
"I'm not talking about security," Arthur said. He reached down and opened the top drawer of his desk, pulling out a small, glass vial filled with a clear, viscous fluid. "I'm talking about the white rose Victoria insisted I wear on my lapel today."
Vance froze, his eyes locking onto the vial.
"She told me it was a tradition from her family's estate," Arthur continued, his tone chillingly smooth. "A rare hybrid white rose. But when Lily cried against my chest, the moisture from her tears reactivated the dried contact toxin brushed onto the petals."
Arthur looked at his own right hand. The skin around his knuckles was already turning a faint, powdery blue under the green lamp light.
"It’s the same compound you used on Eleanor, isn't it?" Arthur asked. "Micro-dosed through skin absorption. Induces a sudden, fatal cardiac arrest within six hours, completely undetectable during a standard autopsy."
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Vance’s face darkened with sudden, genuine panic. "You... you were wearing it for three hours."
"Yes," Arthur said, a dark, tragic smile touching his lips. "Which means I'm already dead, Marcus. But my blood work was uploaded to the State Police laboratory twenty minutes before I walked into this room. The moment my heart stops, the toxicology alert triggers automatically."
