A Soldier Returns Home to Find His Cruel Sister Attacking Their Helpless Grandmother — Part 2 of 3

The Hidden Poison

Chloe lay on the ground, weeping and clutching her bruised arm. "You don't understand, Mason!" she sobbed, her voice trembling with a mixture of fear and anger. "You've been gone for two years! You don't know what she's been doing!"

Mason knelt beside Eleanor, gently lifting her frail upper body. He checked her for broken bones, his hands shaking. "Are you okay, Nana?" he whispered, his voice cracking. Eleanor could only nod weakly, burying her face in his camouflage jacket, her body shaking with silent tears.

Mason glared back at his sister, his eyes cold. "There is no excuse for putting your hands on a helpless woman in a wheelchair, Chloe. I should call the police right now."

"Then call them!" Chloe shrieked, standing up and brushing the dirt off her navy dress. "Call them so they can test her tea! Call them so they can see what she’s been hiding in that expensive wheelchair!"

Mason froze. He looked down at Eleanor, who suddenly seemed to stiffen in his arms. Her crying stopped, replaced by a tense, watchful silence. "What are you talking about, Chloe?" Mason asked, a sinking feeling forming in his stomach.

Chloe pointed a trembling finger at the overturned wheelchair. "Look at the frame, Mason! Under the seat cushion. I caught her yesterday. She’s been slowly poisoning herself with small doses of arsenic, and she’s been framing me for it! She wanted to write me out of the family will and leave everything to you, but she needed a reason that wouldn't look suspicious to the estate lawyers!"

Mason stared at his sister, then slowly looked down at his grandmother. Eleanor’s eyes were no longer filled with tears. Instead, they held a cold, calculating look that Mason had never seen before. Slowly, Eleanor reached into the pocket of her cream silk dress, her hand remarkably steady for a woman who had just been thrown to the ground.