poisoned shadows

Chapter 6

Poisoned Shadows

While she was in there she met Judith lay still in the hospital bed. The machines beeped softly in the quiet room. Her chest rose and fell in a slow rhythm. The woman moved fast but carefully. She reached the drip stand and pulled the syringe from her pocket. With one quick move, she injected the poison into the line.

While she did this, Ellena already arranged for the camera in the ward to be disconnected for some moment for a successful operation.

The clear liquid mixed in. She wiped the spot clean and slipped out of the room like a shadow. No one saw her.

Minutes passed. Judith's body started to feel wrong. Her breathing grew shallow. Her skin turned pale. The heart monitor began to sound loud alarms. Nurses rushed in. "She's crashing!" one shouted. They pushed buttons and called for the doctor. Ethan was outside talking to a lawyer when he heard the noise. He ran into the room with fear in his eyes.

"Judith! What is happening?" he asked, his voice shaking.

The doctor worked fast. "Her vitals are dropping. It looks like a bad reaction. We need to stabilize her now!" They gave her medicine and put a mask on her face. But Judith did not wake up. Her eyes stayed closed. After many tries, the doctor stepped back with a heavy face. "She is in a coma. Something has gone wrong with her drip... we think someone put something in her drip. We are fighting to bring her back."

Ethan fell into a chair. His hands covered his face. "No, not again. Please fight, Judith. Lily needs you." Tears ran down his cheeks. He had falling so deeply in love with her. The news of the coma spread in the hospital. Police came back to ask questions. The guard who left for coffee was in big trouble.

Across town, Elena sat in her apartment with a smile. Her phone rang. It was the cleaner. "It is done. She is in a coma." Elena laughed softly. "Good job. The money is already sent." She ended the call and poured another glass of wine. This was better than death. A coma would break Ethan slowly. He would feel lost and alone. That was when she would step in.

Elena picked up her phone again and called Marcus Kane, Ethan's big rival.

"Marcus, the plan worked. Judith is out. Now we use this to get close to Ethan."

Marcus's voice was cold and happy. "Perfect. The gunshot already made him look weak. We will send flowers and a note of support.

I will offer help with the company while he sits by her bed. We can leak more fake stories about his family fights. His father's empire will fall piece by piece. When he is broken, he will need a strong partner. That will be you, Elena. And I get the contracts I want."

Elena nodded even though he could not see. "Yes. I will visit the hospital tomorrow. I will act sad and caring. Ethan will remember how close we were before Judith came. This incident is our door. We must push it open wide."

Back at the hospital, Ethan held Judith's cold hand. The doctors put new medicine in her drip to fight the poison. One nurse said, "We are doing everything we can. Her body is strong but the poison is tricky. It may take days or weeks." Ethan thought about Lily.

How could he tell her that her mother was sleeping and might not wake soon?

He remembered Dan's angry face and the gun. Everything felt like a bad dream. Now this. Someone wanted Judith gone.

He knew in his heart it might be Elena. But he had no proof yet.

The hours moved slowly. Ethan did not leave the room. He talked to Judith even if she could not hear. "I am sorry for all the lies and pain. I should have told you about Elena from the start. She means nothing. You are my wife. Come back to me." His phone kept ringing. Business partners wanted answers. The company shares were falling because of the scandal.

Elena and Marcus met in a quiet restaurant that night. They sat in a dark corner. "We move fast," Marcus said. "I will call Ethan tomorrow and offer my help with the legal mess from the gunshot. He will be too tired to say no. While he watches Judith, we take control of the board meetings. Your job is to stay close to him. Comfort him. Make him doubt his marriage."

Elena smiled. "I have waited years for this. Judith in a coma is even better than dead. She is there but not there. It will drive him mad." They raised their glasses and made a silent toast to their dark victory.

Across the city, Dan stood on the balcony of the old waterfront hotel. He had just been cleared at the police station.

His phone felt heavy in his pocket—filled with unsent messages to Judith. confessions he could never send. Apologies for his stupidity. He felt like a demon at the moment. He was in love with her. Desperately. The kind of love that consumed every thought, every breath.

The glass door slid open behind him.

“Still out here pretending everything is fine?” Julian’s voice cut through the storm like a blade.

Dan turned, heart slamming against his ribs. His fiance stood there in a tailored black coat, eyes sharp and unreadable. Julian stepped closer, rain glistening on his dark hair.

“I saw everything, Dan,” Julian said quietly, his tone dangerously calm. “The deleted messages. The photos you stare at for hours. The way your voice breaks when you say her name—Judith. You’re in love with her. Don’t even try to deny it.”

Dan’s blood ran cold. “Julian… it's not like—”

“I’ve known for weeks,” Julian continued, pulling out her phone and opening a folder of screenshots. “I hired someone to check when you started acting distant. I just needed confirmation. So you’re willing to throw away everything we have—for a married woman lying in a coma right now.”

Julian’s jaw tightened as she watched Dan stepped even closer.

“Juliana…”

He said

“You know I never proposed to you. This whole thing is because our parents want us to be together because of their companies”.

Those words broke Juliana. She has always knew Dan doesn't show her love as he should but she never expected such statement from him.

So…..

This is it right?

Juliana said while trying to hide her pain

So tell me, Dan… if Judith wakes up, are you going to run to her? Because if you do, just know I won’t let you go like that. I know too many of your secrets.