I was sitting at my bed, staring at the wall, then suddenly...
I heard a commotion, raised voices, footsteps moving with unusual urgency through the manor's hallways.
Then Father's voice, sharp and commanding. "What is the meaning of this?"
Something was happening.
I moved to my door and opened it carefully, listening. The sounds were coming from below.
The whole family was gathering.
This is it.
I grabbed the folded journal pages from under my mattress, stuffing them into my tunic. Then I followed.
The kitchen was crowded when I arrived.
Father stood in the center, his expression thunderous. Victor leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, his face unreadable. Cedric hovered near Father's side, eyes wide with confusion and excitement, something dramatic was happening, and he didn't want to miss it.
Cassandra stood near the preparation counter, her posture rigid, controlled. In her hand was a small leather pouch.
And Vivienne...
Vivienne's mask was completely gone. No warm maternal smile. No gentle concern. Just cold fury barely contained.
Several servants clustered near the walls.
All of them looked terrified.
"Cassandra," Father said, his voice dangerously quiet. "Explain. Now."
Cassandra held up the leather pouch. "I caught Vivienne adding poison from this to Jin's food. Multiple servants witnessed her doing this regularly, always when she thought no one was watching closely."
Father's eyes widened. "Poison?"
"Yes. Poison." Cassandra's voice was flat, factual. "Nightshade and ironbane powder, if I'm identifying them correctly. Both are toxic. Both used for slow, chronic poisoning."
The kitchen erupted into gasps and horrified whispers.
Father's gaze snapped to Vivienne. "Is this true?"
"Aldric, this is absurd, " Vivienne started, her voice carrying that familiar warmth. "Cassandra has misunderstood—"
"Answer the question." Father's voice cracked like a whip. "Have you been adding poison to Jin's food?"
"It's medicine! The physician—"
"I studied the toxicology," Cassandra interrupted coldly. "This is not medicine. This is a carefully calculated poison mixture designed to cause chronic illness and eventual death."
She turned to the servants. "Tell him. Tell Lord Aldric what you've witnessed."
The old woman stepped forward, trembling. "My lord, Lady Vivienne has been preparing the young master's meals personally for years. Always sends us away, says she'll handle it herself. We thought... we thought it was just noble family matters."
Father's expression had gone cold, calculating. He reached for the pouch in Cassandra's hand. "Give it here."
She handed it over.
Father opened it, examining the contents. His jaw clenched, a muscle twitching near his temple.
He looked up at Vivienne, and for the first time, I saw something dangerous in his eyes. Not concern for me. Not fatherly protection.
"You've been poisoning someone carrying the Raith name," Father said, his voice low and deadly. "In my house. Under my authority."
"Aldric, please, if you'd just listen—"
"Someone with my blood." Father's voice rose slightly. "Weak as he is, pathetic as he is, he bears my name. My family's legacy."
He took a step toward Vivienne, and she actually backed away.
"You made me look like a fool," Father continued, his composure cracking. "Made it seem like I couldn't even keep my own household in order. Made people whisper that the Raith family was so weak we couldn't even keep our children healthy."
So that's what mattered. Not my life. Not the years of suffering.
His reputation. His pride.
"I have more evidence," I said quietly from the doorway.
Every head turned toward me.
I exhaled and then stepped into the kitchen, pulling the folded pages from my tunic.
"This is from Vivienne's personal journal. I copied the relevant entries. She documented everything. All in her own handwriting."
I handed the pages to Father.
He unfolded them, his eyes scanning the text. With each line, his expression grew darker.
"Jin's condition continues to deteriorate as expected..."
"Three more months should be sufficient..."
"Agnes is becoming problematic. May need to remove her..."
Father's hands clenched around the pages, crumpling them slightly.
Victor pushed off from the doorframe, moving closer to read over Father's shoulder. His face was completely still, but something flickered in his grey eyes. Shock, maybe. Disbelief.
He looked at Vivienne, then at me, then back at the journal entries.
Said nothing.
Cedric tugged at Father's sleeve. "Father? What's happening? Mother wouldn't... she wouldn't do this—"
"Be quiet, Cedric," Father snapped.
He turned back to Vivienne, the crumpled pages still in his hand. "You tried to murder him."
"I can explain—"
"For years!" Father's voice rose to a roar.
He threw the pages onto the counter.
"Pack your things. You have until sunset to leave this manor. If you're still here after dark, I'll have you arrested and tried for attempted murder."
"Aldric, please," Vivienne's composure finally shattered completely. "We can discuss this privately—"
"There is nothing to discuss. You are no longer welcome in this house. No longer part of this family. Leave. Now."
Vivienne stared at him, her expression twisting through shock, fury, desperation.
Then her eyes landed on me.
Pure hatred burned in that gaze. If looks could kill, I would have dropped dead on the spot.
"You pathetic," she hissed. "Worthless—"
"Enough!" Father stepped between us. "Leave. Before I change my mind about being merciful."
Merciful? Huh!
Because he loved her. Even after everything, even after the proof was undeniable, he still loved her enough to let her walk away instead of facing real justice.
Vivienne straightened, collecting what remained of her dignity. She swept past me without another glance, and left the kitchen.
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Cassandra was the first to move. "I'm done with this circus," she said flatly. "I came home for a relaxing break, not family drama." Her voice shook slightly but she composed herself before anyone could notice.
She walked past Father, past Victor, past all of us, heading toward the door.
And then ascended the stairs.
When she reached her room, she opened the door and headed inside.
"She tried to kill Jin?" Her breath hitched, hand trembled slightly before she clenched it into a fist.
"That bitch really tried to kill my brother!"
Crack!
The room wall froze, where her fist landed. Then she exhaled, calming herself down.
------
Meanwhile, back in the kitchen...
Father turned to the servants. "Clean this mess. Prepare dinner. We're done here."
They scattered immediately, desperate to escape.
Victor followed Father out without a word.
I stood there in the now-emptying kitchen, and tried to process what had just happened.
I'd won.
Vivienne was expelled.
So why did it feel hollow?
Then suddenly—
Something hit my shoulder, hard enough to make me stumble.
"This is your fault!"
"Cedric?"
His face was red, tears streaming down his cheeks, rage and grief twisting his features into something ugly.
"You did this! You ruined everything!" His fists swung wildly, connecting with my chest, my arms. "Mother would never... she wouldn't... you're lying!"
Thud!
I dropped on my back, he quickly strangled my chest and began raising his fist, forcing me to raise my arms defensively, but Cedric was eleven and fueled by fury. His hits were clumsy but relentless.
"You always ruin everything! I hate you! I hate you!"
His voice cracked on a sob, but his fists kept coming.
I could have fought back. Could have pushed him away.
But I just... lay there.
Took the hits.
Let him vent his rage and grief and confusion onto me, because what else was there to do?
The few servants still in the kitchen averted their eyes. Kept working. Pretended not to see.
No one helped.
No one stepped in.
Just another day in the Raith household.
Cedric's hits grew weaker, less coordinated, until finally he just collapsed against me, sobbing into my chest.
"I hate you," he whispered. "It's all your fault."
Then he pushed away and ran, his footsteps echoing down the hallway.
I lay there alone in the kitchen, bruises already forming where his fists had connected.
Then I stood up, turned and walked back to my room.
[Quest Complete: Expose the Poisoner]