“She’s confused. It’s just a liquid vitamin.”
Lucas looked at the nurse.
“I need blood and urine samples.”
“Right away.”
Kelly quickly left the room.
Laura raised her voice.
“This is ridiculous! I’m taking my daughter and leaving!”
She stepped toward the stretcher.
But the security guard moved forward.
“Ma’am, you need to remain here.”
Laura glared at him.
“Are you detaining me?”
Maria replied calmly.
“We just need to clarify a few things.”
Emma continued crying softly.
Lucas gently took her hand.
“Everything is going to be okay.”
About an hour later, the preliminary test results arrived.
Lucas read them once.
Then again.
Then a third time.
He wished he had misunderstood.
But the numbers were clear.
“My God…” he murmured.
Maria looked at him.
“What is it?”
Lucas lifted his eyes.
“There are traces of ipecac.”
Maria frowned.
“The syrup that causes vomiting?”
Lucas nodded slowly.
“And it’s been given repeatedly.”
The room fell silent.
“That explains the symptoms,” Maria said quietly.
Lucas took a deep breath.
“And it hasn’t happened just once. The levels show a pattern.”
Maria closed her eyes briefly.
“Munchausen by proxy.”
Lucas didn’t answer.
But they both understood.
A serious condition where a caregiver causes illness in a child to gain attention or sympathy.
Lucas glanced back toward the room.
Emma was now playing quietly with a doll the nurse had given her.
Laura was arguing loudly with the guard.
Fifteen minutes later, two police officers arrived.
