“Margaret wanted her gone,” Vale said, staring at his hands.

“Emily found out about the offshore accounts and the land seizures.”

“So my mother poisoned her,” I said.

“Margaret obtained the digitalis,” Vale said. “She slipped it into Emily’s tea over three days.”

“And you signed the certificate to cover it up,” Sophia said, stepping closer to the desk.

“I had debts,” Vale said. “Caleb’s debts, too. Margaret promised to clear them all.”

My chest tightened at the mention of my younger brother.

“Write it down,” I said, shoving a piece of blank stationery and a pen toward him.

“Write down every word of what you just told us.”

Vale picked up the heavy gold pen.

His hand shook so violently he could barely hold it against the paper.

He began to write, the nib scratching loudly against the thick parchment.

“I, Dr. Owen Vale, hereby confess…” he murmured as he wrote.

“Hurry,” Sophia said, her eyes fixed on the dark tree line outside.

I watched the blue ink pool on the page.

This was the proof I needed to destroy my mother’s empire.