Chapter 3

It hit me like a lightning bolt. I froze completely in place.

Margaret sighed, came over, and practically hauled me back into bed, her face full of that "I told you so" disappointment. "I said your body's weak. I told you to drink the hot cocoa this morning for nutrition, but you had to throw a fit about it! And look what happened? The proctor called saying you passed out from low blood sugar right in the exam hall, they had to bring you home!"

"Always the hot cocoa... every single time it's because of the hot cocoa!" I held my throbbing, aching head, and three years of pent-up emotions completely broke loose right then. My eyes burned red as I stared her down and yelled. "Why do I always have an accident right after drinking your hot cocoa before the bar exam?! What the hell did you put in it?!"

Margaret froze from my shouting, a flash of unmistakable panic crossing her eyes. "You... you think I messed with the cocoa?"

"Didn't you?!" I was practically grinding my teeth.

Before she could keep lying, the bedroom door flew open. Ethan and Liam stormed in.

Ethan looked disgusted, pointing straight at my face and yelling without holding back. "Clara, can you stop taking your own bar exam failure out on my mom?! She specifically made you cocoa for nutrition, and you think she's trying to hurt you? Are you fucking kidding me?"

Liam chimed in with a cold laugh, full of contempt. "Yeah, Harvard genius. If there was something wrong with the hot cocoa, you've been drinking it for years and you're not dead. Why does it only mess you up right before the bar exam?"

I was shaking from their words, but then I froze completely.

Liam's words hit me like a sledgehammer.

He was right. If there was something wrong with the hot cocoa, this time — the morning of the exam — I didn't drink a single drop! I'd even poured the previous night's cocoa into the flowerpot myself!

Then why did I still pass out in the exam hall out of nowhere?! What the hell was going on?

Seeing me lost in thought and not arguing back, Margaret immediately switched to that loving, pained face. She brought that steaming cup of cocoa back to my lips, her voice soft and soothing. "Alright, stop overthinking everything. You've been asleep for three days and haven't eaten a thing. Drink the cocoa first to settle your stomach, I'll make you a big meal later."

That sickly sweet smell hit my nose again, and it made me want to throw up. I stared at Margaret's concerned face, forced down the nausea in my stomach, hesitated for two seconds, then obediently took the cup and chugged it down right in front of them.

When I finished every last drop, Margaret finally let out a huge sigh of relief, grabbed Ethan and Liam, and turned to leave.

The second the door clicked shut, I shot straight up out of bed, ran into the bathroom, locked the door tight, and shoved two fingers down my throat!

I gagged and heaved, throwing up every last drop of that hot cocoa I'd just drunk, collecting every single bit into a clean sealed sample bottle.

Even if I didn't drink it this morning, what if I'd drunk so much before that the toxins had already gotten into my nervous system?

I had to find out. I immediately called a top-tier, completely private medical testing facility and sent the sample over for rush testing.