Chapter 3
"Oh? Then what are you here for, to take care of Andrew for me?" I asked.
In an instant, the awkwardness in the ward jumped up another notch.
The wife was away, and the mistress had the gall to show up and take her place. I never imagined I would one day be living through such a melodramatic scene.
"Ms. Evans, I-I was at the office today, and HR told me I was fired. I wanted to ask what I did wrong. I can change," Carter babbled, doing her best to look pitiful.
I hadn't realized she was such a good actress.
"Don't you know what you did wrong? Do you want me to spell it out?" I looked her straight in the eye, then glanced at Andrew sitting on the bed.
A bold idea flashed through my mind.
If they loved each other so much, why shouldn't I make it easy for them?
Carter immediately caught my meaning and hurried over to tend to Andrew in the bed.
I paused for a second, then sneered.
She really was stupid.
"Ms. Evans, don't worry. From now on, I'll take better care of Andrew," she said as she scooped a spoonful of soup and brought it toward his mouth.
I stared at Andrew coldly. If he took that spoon, I swore I would ruin him.
Fortunately, Andrew sensed my icy mood. He cleared his throat and pushed the spoon away.
"Claire, Carter has her hands full raising her child alone. Considering her years of service to the company, don't fire her," he said.
He was so self-indulgent.
He had no right to be meddling in personnel decisions at my company.
And how dare he mention their child in front of me?
When I first found out Carter was a single mom, I knew how hard things were for her. I even approved her maternity leave ahead of schedule.
On her child's first birthday, I took Andrew with me to visit.
"Let's buy him some jewelry, a little talisman so he'll be a golden boy, everyone's apple," Andrew suggested, and I actually bought that little bracelet for the child.
I remembered the loving way he looked at that kid. The boy even resembled Andrew by about seventy or eighty percent.
All the clues had been laid out in front of me, but I never once thought to follow them.
Andrew had been certain I'd agree. I looked at him and felt nothing but cold amusement.
If they wanted to be together, I would let them.
"Since Andrew's used to you taking care of him, Carter, you can stay and look after him. You don't need to go back to the office. Now you'll have more time to care for your child," I said.
"Ms. Evans, that can't be," Carter protested, eyes bright with emotion. "I think working at the company suits me better."
"Oh? You think taking care of my husband is beneath you?" I emphasized the words.
"N-no, not at all. It's my privilege to care for Andrew," she stammered.
"Then you'd better do a good job." I didn't bother to be kind.
I stayed in the ward a little while longer. When they weren't paying attention, I planted a tiny camera inside a potted plant.
Downstairs in my car, I connected my phone to the micro camera via Bluetooth.
Everything in the ward was clear on my screen.
Carter's voice came through loud and clear in my ear. "Andrew, do you think Claire has noticed? Why would she fire me all of a sudden?"
"Hmph. So what if she notices? We just have to placate her and get her to donate the kidney. Once that's done, her days will be numbered," he said.
For the first time in years, I heard Andrew speak so cruelly.
He wanted me dead.
"If Claire dies, all her assets are ours. Then we'll never have to pander to her again," Evelyn added.
So all the concern they'd shown me had been nothing but an insult. It was their way of currying favor.
Poor things. They had been so very eager to please me for years.
Hearing their vicious words poured over the recording was like having a bucket of cold water dumped on me.
The people I had trusted, Evelyn and Andrew, had been secretly plotting my death.
A cold smile tugged at the corner of my mouth.
"Mom, keep giving her those conflicting foods for now. Stop for a while only when she's had the transplant," Andrew said.
"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing," Evelyn replied with a hint of malice.
So that was it.
Conflicting foods?
They had come up with a way to kill me silently.
The thought made my skin crawl.
If I hadn't traveled so often for work and social events over the years, I would probably be a cold corpse by now.
No wonder they often insisted I eat at home. Sometimes, Evelyn and Andrew even brought food to my office.
I had always thought they cared for me.
Now I saw they had been waiting for me to die.
I saved their conversation and drove to a top-tier hospital.
"Based on the tests, your food poisoning dates back at least three years, though you haven't eaten enough to die.
"Right now, you have a weak stomach and may experience occasional diarrhea and vomiting. You should be careful with your diet going forward," the doctor said sympathetically.
They'd been doing this for three years. It was so long.
I asked the doctor to explain which food combinations were considered conflicting.
That was when I learned that eating mutton and watermelon together could allegedly cause arsenic poisoning.
Every time I came back from a trip, Evelyn would serve me a bowl heaped with mutton. "Claire, come eat. I made your favorite mutton."
A table full of food would be laid out, with that pot of slow-braised mutton right in the middle.
I'd cuddle up to Evelyn and act spoiled, "Mrs. Foster, you're the best."
After dinner, Andrew would always thoughtfully cut me a full plate of watermelon.
After all these years, I hadn't even died. I had been fortunate.