Chapter 4 POISONED TEA PARTY

# CHAPTER 4: POISONED TEA PARTY

Eleanor Page had been released from the hospital after three days of what doctors called "the most unusual poisoning case in the hospital's history." The $30 million in cryptocurrency that had mysteriously disappeared from Shawn's accounts had purchased exactly what Noah promised—three doses of an antidote to counteract whatever concoction Lily had slipped into Eleanor's tea.

Now, Eleanor sat in her penthouse living room, surrounded by new security personnel—humans, not smart devices. Every electronic system in her home had been replaced with analog alternatives. No smart speakers, no automated appliances, not even electric blinds. Eleanor Page had gone decidedly low-tech.

Her hand trembled slightly as she lifted her teacup—prepared by her new food taster, a security measure that would have seemed paranoid just days ago. The doctors had assured her she would make a full recovery, but the psychological damage ran deeper than any poison.

"Mrs. Page," her new security chief announced from the doorway, "there's someone here to see you."

"I'm not receiving visitors," Eleanor snapped.

"She says she's your granddaughter, ma'am."

Eleanor's teacup clattered against its saucer. "Send her away immediately!"

"I'm afraid the little girl is quite insistent. She's... she's wearing a princess crown and carrying a tea set."

Before Eleanor could respond, a small figure darted past the security chief and into the living room. Lily stood before her grandmother, resplendent in a pale blue dress with a tiara perched atop her copper curls. She carried a child-sized pink tea set in a wicker basket.

"Hello, Grandmother," Lily said with a practiced curtsy. "I've come for our tea party."

"Get that child out of here!" Eleanor shouted, backing away as if Lily were a venomous snake.

The security team moved forward, but Lily raised her small hand. "Before you throw me out, you should know that Noah is watching through your new security cameras. The ones you think are closed-circuit?" She pointed to a nearly invisible lens in the corner of the ceiling. "Nothing is analog when my brother wants in."

Eleanor froze. "What do you want from me?"

Lily smiled sweetly. "Just a tea party with my grandmother. Is that too much to ask?"

With the security team watching nervously, Lily set up her little tea set on the coffee table. She arranged two cups with delicate precision, then pulled out a child's thermos decorated with unicorns.

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"I brought my own special tea," she announced, pouring a golden liquid into both cups. "It's a family recipe."

Eleanor's face hardened. "I will not be poisoned by a child again."

"Oh, Grandmother," Lily sighed dramatically. "If I wanted to poison you again, would I be so obvious?" She lifted her cup and took a small sip. "See? Perfectly safe."

Eleanor remained rigid in her seat. "Tell your mother I want to speak with her. Adult to adult."

Lily's smile never faltered. "Mommy doesn't want to talk to you. Not after what you did." She took another sip of tea. "Did you know I almost didn't exist because of you? That's what Mommy told me."

"Your mother manipulated my son. She got pregnant deliberately to trap him."

"Is that what you tell yourself?" Lily asked, her childish voice suddenly cold. "Is that why you had your nurse drug her? Why you scheduled an abortion without her consent?"

Eleanor's face paled. "You're too young to understand such matters."

"I understand perfectly," Lily replied, taking another sip of her tea. She reached into her basket and pulled out a folded document. "This is Grandfather's will. The real one, not the version you showed Daddy."

Eleanor's eyes widened. "That's impossible. The original is in a secure—"

"Nothing is secure from Noah," Lily interrupted with a dismissive wave. "Did you know Grandfather left specific provisions for any grandchildren? Even ones born out of wedlock?"

She unfolded the document and smoothed it on the table, then pulled a red crayon from her pocket.

"Every time I take a sip of tea, I'm going to cross out one name in this will." Lily demonstrated by drawing a thick red line through the first beneficiary. "Oops, there goes Aunt Patricia's trust fund."

Eleanor lunged forward. "Stop that this instant!"

"But Grandmother, it's just a copy." Lily's eyes widened with mock innocence. "Unless... Noah is changing the digital version in the law firm's system right now? He's very good with computers."

Eleanor's hand flew to her throat. "You're bluffing."

"Am I?" Lily took another deliberate sip and crossed out another name. "There goes Uncle William's bequest." She glanced at her unicorn watch. "Noah gives me exactly three minutes for each name. That's how long it takes him to alter the digital records and backdate the changes."

With shaking hands, Eleanor reached for the teacup Lily had poured for her. "If I drink this, will you stop this madness?"

Lily's smile widened. "One sip, one name saved. That seems fair."

Eleanor raised the cup to her lips and took a quick swallow, grimacing at the overly sweet taste. "There. Now stop this."

"Oh, but Grandmother, there are twelve beneficiaries. That's twelve sips." Lily tapped the paper. "And I've already crossed out two."

With a look of pure loathing, Eleanor drained half the cup in one go. "There. That should cover at least six names."

Lily clapped her hands in delight. "You're good at this game!"

Something in the child's tone made Eleanor pause, the cup halfway to her lips again. "This is just regular tea, isn't it? You're manipulating me."

"Of course it's just tea," Lily said, taking another sip from her own cup. "See? Perfectly harmless children's tea." She reached into her basket and pulled out a small plastic bottle. "I'm just taking my vitamins with it. Would you like one? They're berry flavored."

Eleanor set down her cup with a triumphant smile. "I knew it. You were trying to trick me into thinking you'd poisoned me again."

"Trick you?" Lily blinked innocently. "But Grandmother, I would never trick you." She leaned forward conspiratorially. "I really did put something in the tea."

Eleanor's smile faltered. "But you drank from it yourself."

"I did," Lily agreed cheerfully, holding up the vitamin bottle. "But I took the antidote first. These aren't really vitamins."

As if on cue, Eleanor felt a sharp cramping in her abdomen—familiar from her previous poisoning. She clutched her stomach, eyes widening in horror.

"You little monster," she gasped.

"Monster?" Lily's expression hardened, all childish pretense vanishing. "You tried to kill me before I was even born. Who's the real monster, Grandmother?"

Eleanor tried to call for her security team, but found her voice failing as her throat began to constrict. The room spun around her as she collapsed back into her chair.

"Don't worry," Lily said calmly, packing up her tea set. "It won't kill you. Noah was very specific about the dosage again." She patted Eleanor's hand. "We don't want you dead, Grandmother. We just want you to understand how it feels to be helpless."

Through her rapidly blurring vision, Eleanor saw Lily pull out a small remote control and press a button. The supposedly deactivated smart home system suddenly came to life, screens descending from hidden compartments in the ceiling.

"Look, Grandmother," Lily said, pointing to the nearest screen. "Noah unlocked your medicine cabinet."

The screen showed real-time footage of Eleanor's bathroom, where the smart medicine cabinet had opened to reveal a row of prescription bottles.

"One of those bottles contains the antidote," Lily explained. "The rest contain more poison. Can you guess which is which?" She checked her watch. "The antidote costs $10 million. Per dose."

Eleanor's security team finally rushed in, alerted by the monitoring equipment showing her vital signs in distress. As they called for an ambulance, Lily slipped quietly toward the door.

"Family helps family," she called over her shoulder. "That's what you always told Daddy, right?"

---

Shawn Page burst into his mother's hospital room, his face drawn with stress and lack of sleep. This was the second hospitalization in a week, and the doctors were even more baffled than before.

"What happened?" he demanded.

Eleanor, pale and connected to various monitoring devices, could barely turn her head to look at him. "That... demon child... your daughter..."

Shawn ran a hand through his disheveled hair. "I've paid another $10 million for the antidote. They're administering it now."

"You need to stop them," Eleanor whispered hoarsely. "Both of them."

"They're children, Mother. Five-year-old children."

"They're not normal children," Eleanor insisted, her voice strengthening with anger. "They're calculating, manipulative—"

"They're my children," Shawn interrupted, surprising himself with the surge of protective instinct. "Children you tried to prevent from being born."

Eleanor's eyes widened. "You believe those doctored videos? That girl poisoned me. Twice!"

"And yet here you are, alive and recovering, because they provided the antidote. They could have killed you, Mother. They chose not to."

A nurse entered with a syringe of clear fluid—the latest "antidote" that had arrived by courier with precise administration instructions.

As the nurse injected the solution into Eleanor's IV, Shawn's phone chimed with a message. It was a video of Noah and Lily sitting side by side on what appeared to be a park bench.

"Hi, Daddy," they said in unison, their synchronization eerily perfect.

Noah spoke first. "Grandma should feel better soon."

Lily continued, "The antidote works in exactly seven minutes."

"We had to make it ourselves," Noah added proudly.

"Chemistry is fun!" Lily chimed in.

Noah's expression turned serious. "Daddy, we need to talk about Mommy."

Lily nodded solemnly. "She doesn't know what we're doing. She'd be mad if she found out."

"But we had to protect her," Noah insisted. "Like you didn't."

Shawn felt the accusation like a physical blow. "Where is she? Where is Nicole?"

The twins exchanged a look before Lily answered. "Mommy is safe. Away from Grandma."

Noah held up what looked like a flash drive. "We have proof of what Grandma did. To Mommy. To us."

"Meet us tomorrow," Lily said. "Central Park, by the boat pond. Four o'clock."

"Come alone," Noah added. "No security."

"Or else the next antidote might not work," Lily finished with a sweet smile that chilled Shawn to the bone.

The video ended, leaving Shawn staring at his black screen while his mother's color gradually improved as the antidote took effect.

He looked at Eleanor, really looked at her, perhaps for the first time in his adult life. Had he always known what she was capable of? Had he deliberately looked away when her ruthless protection of the Page legacy crossed ethical and legal lines?

"What did you do to Nicole?" he asked quietly.

Eleanor's eyes flickered away. "What was necessary. For you. For the company."

"Did you try to force an abortion without her consent?"

Her silence was answer enough.

Shawn stood, pocketing his phone. "I'm meeting my children tomorrow. And then I'm finding Nicole."

"Shawn, be reasonable," Eleanor began.

"I've been 'reasonable' my entire life," he cut her off. "I've put business above everything—above ethics, above relationships, even above my own children. I'm done being reasonable."

As he walked toward the door, Eleanor called after him. "They're manipulating you! Just like their mother did!"

Shawn paused in the doorway. "Maybe. But at least they wanted me in their lives. That's more than I deserve."