Nurse: Sir, you need to stay in the waiting area.
Thomas: I am not leaving my daughter.
Doctor: Mr. Vance, please calm down. Her airway is stable now.
Thomas: Stable? She could barely breathe when I found her.
Thomas paced the floor of the hospital room. Lily was finally asleep on the small bed, an IV line in her arm.
Doctor: The epinephrine did its job. But this was a very close call.
Thomas: How much was she exposed to?
Doctor: This wasn't cross-contamination, Mr. Vance. She ingested a significant amount of the allergen.
Thomas: Someone fed it to her intentionally.
Doctor: I cannot speculate on that. I only look at the medical results.
Thomas: I am telling you, my stepmother did this.
Doctor: If you believe this was intentional, I have a legal obligation to call child protective services.
Thomas: Call them. Call the police, too.
A quiet knock at the door interrupted them. The family nanny, Maria, stepped into the room looking terrified.
Maria: Mr. Thomas? Is she okay?
Thomas: She is going to be fine, Maria. Why wasn't she with you this afternoon?
Maria: Mrs. Eleanor told me to take the afternoon off.
Thomas: Eleanor gave you a direct order to leave?
Maria: Yes, sir. She said she wanted to spend quality time with her granddaughter.
Thomas: Eleanor hates Lily. She has never wanted to spend time with her.
Maria: I know, sir. I thought it was strange.
Thomas: Did you see what they had for lunch?
Maria: I prepared a safe meal before I left. Macaroni and cheese. I left it on the counter.
Thomas: Did you use the peanut oil for anything?
Maria: No! Never. I know the rules.
Thomas ran his hands over his face. He looked at his sleeping daughter.
Thomas: Eleanor switched the food.
Maria: Why would she do something so evil?
Thomas: Because of the trust fund.
Maria: The trust fund?
Thomas: My late wife left a massive inheritance to Lily. Eleanor has been trying to get control of it for a year.
Maria: But the money is for Lily's future.
Thomas: If something happens to Lily, the estate defaults back to my father. And Eleanor controls my father.