Sarah: David... my head hurts so much.
David: Hold on, honey. We're getting you to the hospital right now.
Evelyn: You are not taking my son's car anywhere!
Evelyn pushed herself up from the floor, wiping the trickle of blood from her cheek with a cloth napkin.
Evelyn: You destroyed my sixty-thousand-dollar dining set!
David: Get out of my way, Mother.
Evelyn: I am calling the police on you for assault!
David: Go ahead! Call them! Tell them how you locked Sarah in the pantry for twelve hours yesterday!
The remaining birthday guests stopped near the front foyer, whispering in hushed tones.
Guest 1: Did she really lock her in the pantry?
Guest 2: Look at Sarah... she looks like she's going to pass out.
Evelyn: She locked herself in there to avoid doing her household chores!
Sarah: That's not true... you took my key, Evelyn...
Evelyn: Shut your mouth, girl! You brought nothing to this family! No money, no status, nothing!
David: She brought love, grace, and kindness into this miserable house, which is more than you ever gave anyone!
Evelyn: I gave you this trust fund! I gave you your job at Vance Logistics!
David: Then take it back! Take the job, take the car, take every cent of your filthy money!
David scooped Sarah up into his arms, holding her securely while she held little Lily against her chest.
Evelyn: If you walk out that front door, David, you are written out of my will forever!
David: Keep your money. I'd rather live in a cardboard box with my family than spend another minute under your roof.
Evelyn: You'll be back on your knees begging within a week! You can't survive without me!
David: Watch me.
David kicked open the heavy oak front door, stepping out into the cool rain without looking back once.
Evelyn stood in the center of the ruined dining room, her hands shaking with uncontrolled fury as her guests filed out in silence.
Evelyn: What are you all looking at?! Get out! All of you, get out of my house!
She stomped toward her private study, grabbing her brass desk telephone and dialing a number with rapid, furious jabs.
Lawyer: Hello, Evelyn? Happy birthday.
Evelyn: Richard, draft an emergency amendment to my trust fund immediately.
Lawyer: An amendment? What happened?
Evelyn: I am disinheriting David completely. Transfer his entire inheritance share to my nephew, Julian.
Lawyer: Evelyn, are you sure about this? David is your only biological child.
Evelyn: He chose that peasant girl over his own mother! Do it now, or I'll find another estate lawyer by morning!
Lawyer: All right, Evelyn. Bring your paper files to my office tomorrow at nine o'clock.
Evelyn slammed the receiver down, a sinister smile spreading across her wrinkled face as she stared at the rain hitting the window glass.
Evelyn: We'll see how long your sick little wife lasts when the bank account goes dry, David.
Meanwhile, thirty miles away, David pulled his pickup truck into the parking lot of St. Jude Emergency Hospital.
He carried Sarah through the sliding glass doors, shouting for immediate medical assistance.
Nurse: Sir, what happened to her?
David: Severe fever, extreme exhaustion, and she hasn't been allowed food or water for two days!
Doctor: Get a gurney over here right now! Check her blood pressure and start an IV line!
As the medical team rushed Sarah down the bright corridor, the doctor looked at David with a deeply concerned expression.
Doctor: Sir, her blood work is showing something very unusual.
David: What do you mean unusual? Is it the fever?
Doctor: Her white blood cell count is elevated, but there are trace toxins in her bloodstream that shouldn't be there.
David felt his heart freeze in his chest as he stared at the doctor under the harsh fluorescent light.
David: Toxins? What kind of toxins?
Doctor: Chemical residue consistent with prolonged exposure to heavy industrial pesticides.
David backed up against the cold wall, his mind racing back to the small glass bottle he had seen sitting on his mother's nightstand three days ago.
David: My mother... she's been poisoning her food.