Chapter 11 - The Poisoner's Trail
In the back of the armored medical evacuation van heading toward a secure private hospital, Sarah Jenkins sat wrapped in thermal blankets while a paramedic treated the cuts on her face. Julian sat on the bench opposite her, holding a warm cup of sweet tea to her hands, listening intently as she filled in the horrific gaps of the past three years.
“After Clara gave birth at the private clinic, she knew her body was failing from whatever your mother was slipping into her IV drips,” Sarah explained, her voice gaining strength as the warm tea soothed her throat. “She made me swear on the Bible that I would take the babies and run away from San Francisco the night before she passed. She gave me her custom silver pendant and told me that if the day ever came when your mother found our hiding place, I had to get the girls directly to you, no matter the cost.”
“Why didn't you just come to my office three years ago, Sarah?” Julian asked gently. “I would have protected you. I would have torn the city apart to keep you all safe.”
“Because your mother had eyes everywhere, Mr. Sterling,” Sarah shook her head sadly. “She controlled your executive staff, your housekeepers, even the private drivers who picked you up from the airport. Clara knew that if I walked into your office with two newborn babies, Victoria would have had us intercepted and killed before we ever reached your floor. I had to wait until the heat died down, living off the cash Clara had hidden in a safe-deposit box.”
David leaned in from the front seat of the van, his phone pressed to his ear. “Sarah, how did Marcus’s men finally locate you in Reno?”
“I made a mistake,” Sarah admitted, a tear sliding down her bruised cheek. “Aurora developed a severe ear infection last week. I had to take her to a local urgent care clinic, and I had to use her real birth certificate to get the prescription antibiotics. Your mother must have had an automated flag set up in the national pediatric registry for any twins born under Clara’s maiden name.”
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“That’s how they found the apartment,” Julian said, his jaw tightening. “They came for you twenty-four hours after that prescription was filled.”
“When they kicked my door in, I hid the girls in the hallway laundry chute and told them to run to the bus station where an old friend of mine drives the regional route to Lake Tahoe,” Sarah said, her eyes fierce with maternal protection. “I gave them the stale roll from our pantry with the necklace inside so they wouldn't lose it. I told them to wait on the porch of your lake house until their daddy came home.”
