Scandal (A Dirty Money Novel)

by Isabella Starling

  Chloe was dead.

  I’d already practiced my reaction in front of the mirror, and I knew my expression would be perfectly contorted into a grimace of sadness and horror upon hearing the terrible news of Chloe Carlyle’s death.

  She was so young, wasn’t she?

  So beautiful.

  It was so sudden, so unexpected.

  What a shame it was that she was gone.

  Once the years started passing, and they started to move on from her tragic passing, I could settle back into my routine knowing nobody would figure out it was me who did it. With Chloe out of the way, I would get away with it once and for all. Everyone else was all right with blaming her father, James. The stupid prick deserved it, too.

  As I waited for the phone call, I practiced what I would say, how I would act, one last time. It would be a tragedy, the passing of a young heiress who could’ve had it all. And I’d go right along with it, wiping fake tears along with everyone else. It would be chalked up to a freak accident, and it would blow over in a few months’ time, just like these things always did.

  The only thing left to do was wait and hope everything had gone according to plan. She’d stopped breathing, and she’d had the reaction I’d been hoping for. She was going to die, because I needed her to, and with that, my problems would we solved.

  The phone rang, the shrill sound cutting through the silent room. A small smile played on my lips as I picked it up, and my voice was steady as I uttered, “Yes?”

  I waited for the news with bated breath.

  She was dead, surely.

  She had to be.

  If not, I would just have to try again. There was no room for leniency or mistakes in the game I was playing.

  The game I was going to win.

  Twenty-Two

  Chloe

  “Chloe? Chloe, can you hear me?”

  My mouth was parched, and my eyelids were heavy. Too heavy. I tried to let out a moan to signal that I could hear whoever was calling to me, but I was too weak. I managed to flutter my eyelids a little, though, and the voice kept speaking to me, guiding me through the difficult process of waking up after the awful dream I’d just had.

  I’d dreamed I was dying, my tongue and throat swelling till I couldn’t breathe, and my eyes aching as the blood vessels burst from straining to drag oxygen into my lungs. Then I’d seen stars pop in front of my closed eyelids, and I’d been cast into a brilliant white light. Despite how bright it was, it was freezing cold, and I felt myself slipping farther and farther away until something jerked me awake.

  What a nightmare.

  “Chloe, thank god. Here, try to drink this.”

  The deep voice was clearer now. Asher. I opened my mouth slightly, and I felt cool droplets on my tongue as he slowly tipped some water between my lips.

  With my mouth feeling less like a desert with each drop I swallowed, I was able to speak, and I muttered four words. “What happened to me?”

  There was a forlorn sniff, and then a feminine voice spoke from my right as someone squeezed my hand. “Sweetie, you’re in the hospital. I’m so glad you’re okay. We didn’t know…”

  My mother’s sentence trailed off, and Robert took over. “Chloe, something terrible happened to you at the wedding. You had a very serious allergic reaction. Luckily, one of our guests is allergic to peanuts, and he gave us an Epi-Pen as soon as he heard what was happening. If he hadn’t, I don’t know what might—”

  “Dad,” I heard Asher hiss. “Not now.”

  “Sorry,” Robert said. “It’s been a rough night. We’re just so glad you’re okay, Chloe. You gave us a real fright.”

  I finally managed to pry my eyes open, and I sat up, looking around at my family. Shit. That’s right. We were a real family now. Mom and Robert were officially married, and Asher was officially my stepbrother. We were also officially in love, which was only going to make things difficult in the future if and when anyone found out about us.

  I pushed aside the awful thought as I saw a doctor enter the room.

  “Miss Carlyle, you’re awake. Good. I was just coming to check on you anyway. I’m Dr. O’Halloran. How are you feeling?”

  I nodded weakly. “I’m…alive.”

  He chuckled. “Yes, you certainly are. You gave us all quite a scare. Have your parents told you what happened to you?”

  I nodded. “I had an allergic reaction.”

  “Yes. That’s why you couldn’t breathe for so long. Your system went into massive anaphylactic shock. Has anything like this ever happened to you before?”

  Mom answered for me. “No, never. She’s occasionally had allergic skin rashes, but that’s it. Nothing this serious.”

  Dr. O’Halloran nodded and made a note on a clipboard. “Odd, but not totally out of the ordinary,” he said. “Sometimes these things happen out of the blue. Do you remember what you ate at the wedding reception?”

  I frowned, trying to think back to everything that happened. It was blurry, but I was quite sure I’d eaten some lobster bisque and a roasted foie gras chicken dish. I told the doctor as such, and he nodded thoughtfully and scribbled another note. “Okay. I just wanted to know so we can try and figure out what might have caused the reaction for future reference. We’re running blood tests to determine exactly what it was, but they might take a while. For now, from what you’ve just told me, I’m going to assume it was likely the lobster. Seafood allergies are very common.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “But I’ve eaten seafood a ton of times.”

  “Like I said, sometimes these things just spring up out of the blue. The immune system is a funny thing. You know, immunology is one of the least understood areas of the human body.”

  “Well, that’s comforting,” I said.

  Dr. O’Halloran smiled. “Don’t worry, we’ll be able to get this under control. As soon as we know exactly what caused the reaction, we can discuss your options—like whether you need to start carrying an Epi-Pen around.”

  “What about right now? How long will I have to stay here in the hospital?”

  “Well, the reaction you had was very serious,” he said. “Your immune system was hammered quite hard, so the treatment after your arrival involved very large doses of corticosteroids while we gave you oxygen. For now, you need bed rest and lots of fluids while we monitor you. But don’t worry, you won’t be here longer than another twenty-four hours or so.”

  I looked over at Asher, who was staring at me with an intense expression in his dark eyes. I so desperately wanted to hug him, kiss him, run my hands through his hair…but I couldn’t. Not now.

  “I’ll be back later to check on you,” the doctor said with a smile. “And when we get the blood test results back, I’ll also let you know about them.”

  “Thank you, Dr. O’Halloran,” Robert said. “Now, who would I speak to about making a donation to this hospital? We usually see our private doctor at St. Jude’s, but this was the closest place to the hotel, and your treatment of my stepdaughter has been exemplary. I want to do something to thank you.”

  He stood up and left the room with the doctor to discuss whatever plan he had to donate a chunk of cash to the hospital for taking care of me so well, and my mother squeezed my hand again. “I’m so glad you’re okay, Chloe.”

  “Same. And I’m sorry for wrecking your wedding reception. I know how much you were looking forward to it.”

  She smiled. “Don’t be silly. It was just a party. Your health is far more important than anything else, and it’s not your fault, anyway. It’s not like you knew you were going to have a huge allergic reaction to the lobster.”

  “I guess. So how long was I out for?” I asked.

  “Quite a while,” Asher said. “It’s seven in the morning.”

  “Yes, we were here all night,” Mom added. “Asher stayed by your side the whole time, even when Robert and I had to go and speak to the doctors. I’m so glad you two have bonded so well. Honestly, I’m really proud of you both, consider
ing how you didn’t exactly see eye to eye when we moved into Briarwood.”

  I swallowed hard. “Um. Thanks,” I said.

  I couldn’t let on about this, but my heart was swelling with pride and warmth at the thought of Asher staying by my bedside all night, refusing to leave until he knew I was definitely going to be okay. I risked another look at him, and his smoldering eyes told me he knew exactly what I was thinking.

  I yawned, and then something occurred to me. “Wait, Mom, isn’t your flight to France leaving at nine? You should go.”

  She shook her head. “Don’t be ridiculous, Chloe. You think I’d go on my honeymoon while my only daughter is lying in a hospital bed?”

  “No, but you should.”

  She tut-tutted. “I’m staying right here.”

  “Please, Mom. I already ruined your reception. Don’t let me ruin your honeymoon as well.”

  “It can all be delayed or re-booked. The flight we were taking was on a private jet, anyway. Easy to reschedule.”

  “Exclusive hotels aren’t so easy, though,” I argued. “Mom, I really want you to go and enjoy yourself. You heard the doctor; I’m totally fine. All I need is a bit of rest and water now. You don’t need to sit here and worry when you should be enjoying your trip with your new husband.”

  She frowned. “I can see your point, but I still don’t know if I’m entirely comfortable with it,” she said.

  Asher stood up and put his hand on her shoulder. “Victoria, Chloe is right. You and Dad should go. I’m going to stay right here, and I’ll call you with updates every hour or so. And I’ll call you when we find out exactly what Chloe had the allergic reaction to, as well.”

  Mom smiled. “Well….okay. Thank you for the offer, Asher. Let me speak to Rob about this, and we’ll decide from there. I’ll be back in a while.”

  She stepped out of the room, and I turned to Asher. “Thank you,” I said. “I know it looks like I’m trying to get rid of her to be alone with you, but it’s not like that. I really want her to enjoy her honeymoon.”

  “I know,” Asher replied, sitting down next to me again. “I didn’t think for a second that it was about anything else.”

  I gave him a small smile. “I suppose it is an added benefit that we’ll be left alone if they do decide to go, though.”

  “Oh, definitely. If they do, I can spend the next few hours teasing you.”

  I sat up straight and frowned. “Teasing me? Like….sexually?” I said as quietly as I could so as to not attract the attention of a nurse who’d just quickly entered the room to make a note of some vital stats on the machines next to me.

  He snorted. “Not quite.”

  “Teasing me about what, then?”

  He pulled out his phone, and with a few swift taps, he brought of up a picture of what looked like a man with only slits for eyes, as his face was so swollen, especially around the eye area. “You looked a lot like this guy for about six hours,” he said. “Anaphylactic shock can cause this type of swelling, apparently.”

  “I didn’t look that bad,” I said indignantly. “No way.”

  “Yeah, you actually looked worse,” he said with a chuckle, leaning over and stroking my hand as the nurse left again.

  “It’s very mean to tease a sick person.”

  “You literally just said that you’re feeling totally fine, and all you need is rest and water.”

  I stuck my tongue out at him. “Oh, shut up.”

  “Sorry. I’m just trying to make you laugh. I hear it’s good medicine.”

  “Yes, I’ve heard that too, Dr. St Clair,” I said with a grin.

  “I like the sound of that,” he said with a wink. “Dr. St Clair….but only if you’re a naughty nurse.”

  “You’re so dirty.”

  “Says the girl who lets me…”

  Asher’s sentence trailed off as Dr. O’Halloran stepped back into the room. His eyebrows were drawn into a frown, and he closed the door.

  “Is everything all right?” I asked, worried about the grave expression on his face. Asher moved closer to me, obviously equally concerned.

  “Not exactly,” Dr. O’Halloran said. “Chloe, this is going to be a big shock, so I need you to try and stay calm.”

  “Um. Okay,” I said as my pulse began to race. Being told to stay calm was a surefire way to make sure a person was not calm at all.

  “We got your blood test results back, which included a toxicology report. It seems…well, I don’t know how to say this, to be honest. I’ve never had such a strange case before.”

  “What is it?” Asher asked, springing to his feet.

  “You didn’t have an allergic reaction to the seafood. It was definitely an allergic reaction that you experienced, but it was due to another antigen being introduced to your system in quite a large dose. Something that would certainly never be found in food, or even any sort of drink.”

  My heart was beating rapidly in my ribcage like the wings of a trapped bird as he delivered the news. “Do you mean…was this…”

  I couldn’t even get the words out, but Dr. O’Halloran understood me anyway. He nodded and took a deep breath before speaking up again.

  “This was intentional. Someone poisoned your food with this substance. And if another guest hadn’t had an Epi-Pen to use on you before the paramedics arrived, you’d—”

  “She’d be dead,” Asher cut in, his voice hoarse.

  Dr. O’Halloran nodded. “Yes. Chloe, I think someone may have tried to kill you.”

  Twenty-Three

  Asher

  "What the hell do you mean?" I cut into the conversation, raising my eyebrows at Dr. O'Halloran. "Someone tried to kill her?"

  I looked at Chloe and her face was as blank as mine. We exchanged worried glances and then our eyes were back on the doctor, demanding answers he probably couldn't even give.

  "We will be contacting the police shortly," Dr. O'Halloran said calmly. "Do you have any idea who may have tried to hurt you?"

  Chloe's eyes flashed toward mine again and I gave her a worried look. This was beyond a serious matter now—were we finally going to come clean about what happened after dinner with our parents that night when Chloe was first attacked by the masked stranger?

  "No," Chloe finally said. "I have no idea who it could have been."

  She gave me a warning look when the doctor wasn't looking, and I nodded slowly. I didn't exactly agree with hiding the truth at this point, but I'd have to discuss matters with Chloe a little bit later. She must have had her reasons for not wanting to say anything about that night just yet. For now, Dr. O'Halloran pulled out some papers from the folder he'd been carrying.

  "What was the poison?" I asked, feeling a little morbid for asking the question, but wanting to know nonetheless.

  "Well, see, that's the odd thing." The doctor furrowed his brows as he looked at some of the results on the paper in front of him. "We ran some tests, and it turns out the substance that was used in Chloe's case was something called hexyl cinnamaldehyde."

  "What the hell is that?" I raised my eyebrows. "I've never heard of a poison called that."

  On instinct, I stood closer to Chloe and squeezed her hand gently. Seeing her in the stark white hospital bed made me worry. She was so small against the cushions, tiny and so very sweet. I wanted to hold her, but I didn't want the doctor to leave just yet. We needed more answers from him.

  "Hexyl cinnamaldehyde isn't classified as a poison. In fact, this might be the very first time I'm hearing of it being used in a malicious manner,” the doctor replied. He gave Chloe an apologetic smile, saying, "Miss Carlyle, I'm sorry if this is upsetting to you. I know it must be very difficult."

  "That's okay." Chloe waved her hand dismissively. "But please explain—what is it then, if it isn't a poison? It sounds so familiar to me, but I can’t remember why.”

  "Well, it's not a very easy ingredient to get your hands on," he explained. "In fact, I have no idea where anyone could get enough to spike your fo
od with it as it's so specific. It really is mostly harmless."

  "It wasn't harmless for Chloe," I cut in, and Dr. O'Halloran nodded thoughtfully.

  "Indeed," he said. "Because Chloe is allergic to it. See, the odd thing is—only about 0.1% of people in this world have reactions to this ingredient. Mostly, those people with allergies will get a rash from it, if that. Something called dermatitis. That’s because it’s almost never ingested. It usually only comes into skin contact.”

  "A rash? Skin contact?" Chloe gave the doctor an odd look, her fleeting gaze locking with mine for a second.

  Dr. O'Halloran nodded. "Yes. In fact, it's an ingredient that is most commonly found in perfumes," he said. Chloe's face blanched.

  Dr. O'Halloran gave us an apologetic smile and promised to return in half an hour with more information once he’d contacted the police about the case. As soon as he was gone, Chloe turned to me frantically, her eyes as wide as saucers. “Oh my god,” she said. “Oh my god…”

  "What the hell is going on?" I asked, and she reached for my arm, squeezing the hell out of me.

  "Don't you get it?" she asked me in a low hiss. "He said the thing that poisoned me is an ingredient commonly found in perfumes. And it's not as if anyone drinks perfume. That's why I didn't know just how severely allergic I am to it.”

  "But you haven't been drinking perfume," I said stupidly.

  Chloe shook her head, giving me a dumbfounded expression. "Of course not," she said. "But someone could've spiked my drink or food with the ingredient, knowing I was allergic to it!"

  "How would anyone know you were allergic to something so specific?" I asked her doubtfully.

  "Think for a second, Asher," Chloe said. "Someone who knew I got a bad rash from applying perfume. Who else?"