The metal made him shiver.

Sophia didn’t stop me; she stood by the window, her eyes scanning the dark driveway.

“She was my wife, Owen,” I said. “She was thirty-two years old and completely healthy.”

“Daniel, please, you don’t understand the pressure,” Vale whimpered.

“My mother paid you to falsify the death certificate,” I said.

“You wrote down heart failure.”

“It was heart failure,” Vale insisted, his voice cracking.

“Induced by what?” I asked, leaning in.

“I don’t know,” he lied.

I pulled the hammer of the pistol back with a sharp click.

“Induced by digitalis,” I said. “My mother gave it to her, didn’t she?”

Vale shook his head, tears of terror welling in his eyes.

“If I talk, she’ll kill me,” he whispered.

“I’m the one with the gun to your head right now,” I said.

He looked into my eyes and saw the truth of my words.

He sank into his leather chair, his shoulders slumping.

“Yes,” Vale whispered.

The room fell completely silent except for the wind rattling the glass panes.

“Say it clearly,” I demanded.