After finally catching Hera and securing her back in the cage, Violeta emerged from her room to find Hattie still sitting on the sofa.
She frowned, sensing something was off.
Her eyes narrowed as she noticed the water cup on the coffee table in front of Hattie. Just before she had gone into her room, Hattie's cup had been empty.
Now it was filled with water. That's suspicious ...
As Violeta puzzled over this, the servant who had delivered the water to the study approached her. The servant respectfully greeted, "Good evening, Miss Violeta."
Just as the servant was about to head downstairs, Violeta turned to her and asked, "Where did you just come from?"
"I just delivered water to the study, Miss Violeta," the servant replied.
Delivered water?
Delivered water ...
In a flash, everything clicked in Violeta's mind. She bolted towards the study.
The servant stood there, bewildered as she watched Violeta rush away, as if something major had happened.
Violeta burst into the study, calling out, "Bro!"
But upon entering, she found not only Niall but also Hayden inside, seemingly in the middle of a conversation.
Both men turned towards the door, surprised by the sudden intrusion.
"Vio, what's wrong?" Niall asked.
Violeta's eyes darted to the glass water jug on a side table. She quickly stepped forward and picked it up, then looked seriously at Niall.
"Bro, did you drink any water from this?"
"No, I haven't. Why?" Niall responded.
Hearing that Niall hadn't touched the water, Violeta sighed in relief.
She wasn't sure if Hattie had tampered with the jug, so she couldn't be certain the water was contaminated.
While she was fairly confident something was amiss, she couldn't risk making baseless accusations and being accused of targeting Hattie.
After a moment's thought, Violeta said, "It's nothing. This water isn't clean. I'll dispose of it."
"It isn't clean?" Niall echoed, glancing at Hayden.
Violeta took the jug and left the study, heading straight to an outside sink where she poured the water out.
Phew, crisis averted.
Violeta peeked over the second-floor railing and noticed that Hattie wasn't in the living room anymore.
Hattie had only one chance to act, and Violeta had spoiled it. There wouldn't be another opportunity for Hattie to get close to Niall.
Just to be safe, Violeta decided to keep an eye on Niall's door tonight, in case Hattie tried something in the middle of the night.
...
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Phoenix Rising: From Heartache to Heroism