"Mama!" I caught her before she hit the floor, her body suddenly deadweight in my arms.
Her eyes were wide, terrified, trying to communicate something she couldn't say. Her lips moved but no sound came out. Just a horrible gasping wheeze as she tried to pull air into lungs that weren't working.
"What's happening?" I looked up at Damien, panic rising. "What's wrong with her?"
He was already on his phone, dialing emergency services. "We need an ambulance. Now. Fourth floor, apartment 4B, Vinohrady."
Sarah dropped beside me, checking Isabella's pulse. "Her heart rate is through the roof. Pupils dilated." She looked at the coffee mug still sitting on the table. "The coffee. Someone poisoned the coffee."
"How?" I demanded, even as I cradled my mother's shaking body. "We were here the whole time"
"Not the whole time." Sarah was moving fast now, all business. "Someone broke in before we arrived. While she was out. Poisoned the coffee grounds knowing she'd make a pot eventually."
