MIDNIGHT Bride The CEO's TEMPTATION

Once the doctor was done treating Helen's bodyguard, he took out a paper from his briefcase. Then he turned to Nathan, gave him the report, and said, "I have the results from your blood tests. Everything is normal."

Nathan took the paper, gave it a cursory glance, crumpled it up, and threw it away without even saying thank you.

Crystal wanted to say something about that, but she thought better of it and changed the subject instead. She said, "Since you know who the snitch is, would you like to check on Helen and Elma?"

Nathan shook his head and said, "No."

Crystal: "But the child is innocent, and Elma wasn't the rat!"

Nathan frowned. Even though he owed Helen something, he was bound to visit her. He didn't need Crystal nagging him, and her persistence made him wonder - Why is she being so pushy? "You think too much," he said.

"Do I?" Crystal scoffed. "Helen is pregnant, and the constant stimulation is not good for the baby. The only person who can stabilize her mood is you."

"Fine!" Nathan growled, and he stormed off in the direction of Helen's room - and when she saw him, her face began to glow. She felt a bit awkward, though, and she didn't know whether to stand or remain sitting. Thankfully, Nathan made a choice for her when he sat down beside her. "Will you blame me for what happened to Nanny Elma?" he asked.

Helen shook her head. "I don't blame you," she replied. "I know you always do what is proper. Miss Smith and I heard a gunshot, though. Did something happen?"

Nathan: "It was nothing."

Helen: "Okay. That's good. I was worried. Anyway, have you found the snitch yet?"

Nathan: "Yes. In fact, it was one of your men. I do not blame you, though. I know that he was acting on his own initiative."

Helen's shoulders relaxed when she heard this answer.

Nathan stood up again and said, "It's getting late. Go to bed early and have a good rest." Then he walked out and closed the door behind him.

****

That night, there was a knock on Crystal and Nathan's door. He sat up unhappily and growled at the intruder: "What?!?!"

"It's an emergency," one of the servants replied nervously. "Helen is bleeding. It might be a miscarriage!"

Nathan cringed as he stood up. "I'll be right there," he said. Then he turned to Crystal and told her to call 9-1-1.

The paramedics arrived quickly, and the emergency turned out to not be an emergency. Not only was the fetus fine, but there was very little blood to be seen. This was puzzling, and it made everyone think - Why did Helen act like she was having a miscarriage? And once things had settled down, Nathan demanded to know what was going on.

"I don't know," Helen replied. She frowned and said, "I felt a bit sick after dinner, but I didn't think much of it..."

Nathan: "What did you have for dinner?" 

Helen: "Just some cookies and milk." Nathan was not happy when he heard that. The doctor was still in the living room, so he went out to see him. "What happened?" he asked. "Why does she feel sick?"

"It seems to be something she ate," the doctor replied. "Miss Bush said that she had cookies and milk for dinner. I suggest you take them to the lab to be tested. Don't forget that she is pregnant. That means that she has to be careful about her diet."

Nathan nodded and instructed Vic to follow the doctor's instructions. Then he went back to Helen's room and told her what the doctor had said. Then he asked her if she was hungry. She said she was, so he told one of the servants to prepare some porridge. "Since you haven't eaten much," he said, "you'll have some porridge to warm your stomach."

Helen smiled and said, "Thank you, Nathan." She was moved when she saw that he cared about her.

****

In the morning, the atmosphere in Helen's room was tense. Nathan had been in and out of the room throughout the night, and he was in a bad mood. Along with his test results, the doctor had given him Helen's test results. Up until now, though, he had kept them to himself.

"What's bothering you?" Vic asked.

Nathan nodded his head in Helen's direction and said, "Her blood showed excessive amounts of Vitamin C, Cinnamon, Dong Quai, and Parsley."

Helen's face turned white when she heard Nathan's words.

Vic: "I don't get it..."

Nathan: "These are among the top methods that women use to trigger a miscarriage."

Helen: "Somebody must have poisoned the cookies in my room..."

Nathan: Where did you get them?"

Helen: "They came from Crystal. She saw how hungry I was, and she snuck me the snack…."

Nathan turned to Vic. "Get Crystal in here!" he growled. "Now!"

Crystal knew something was wrong when Vic hauled her out of bed and dragged her into Helen's room. "What is this about?" she asked Nathan.

Nathan pointed to the table. "Did you give these cookies to Helen?" he asked.

Crystal: "Yes, I did. I know that you said she had to fast, but I couldn't stand to see a pregnant woman going hungry... Was that so bad? She wasn't the rat!"

Nathan: "The cookies contained Vitamin C, Cinnamon, Dong Quai, and Parsley. These are among the top methods that women use to trigger a miscarriage."

Crystal: "How can that be? The package was sealed when I bought it!"

Nathan: "Are you saying that you didn't try to kill the baby? If you say you didn't, then I will believe you. If you did, though, I want you to tell me."

Crystal: "I don't know anything about this. There could be another explanation. These could be naturally occurring ingredients, or it couldn't have been something she ate earlier in the day."

"I tested the cookies," Vic interrupted.

"They were all tainted, and they are not naturally occurring ingredients."

Nathan frowned at Crystal. "How do you explain that?" he asked.

"I can't..." Crystal shook her head and said, "So, you think I did it?"

Before Nathan could reply, another bodyguard walked in. He had a bag from Safeway in his hand. He handed it to his boss. 

"What is this?" Nathan wondered.

"Sir," the bodyguard replied. "This was found in the cistern of the bathroom that Miss Smith uses. If you look inside, you'll find Vitamin C, Cinnamon, Dong Quai, and Parsley." Crystal gasped, and her hand went to her mouth. "It's not mine..."

"We'll see about that," Nathan growled. He turned to Vic and said, "Go and get the security footage."

Within minutes, Vic had a burnt DVD of the footage. He inserted it into the video player in Helen's room, and the room went quiet as events played out on the screen. Unfortunately, the footage was of no help. It showed Crystal giving Helen the cookies, but it did not offer clues about how they'd been tainted. Nevertheless, the more she denied poisoning Helen, the more guilty she looked.

Helen glared at Crystal and said, "You are the only person who could have poisoned the cookies unless you think I poisoned myself! Is that what you're trying to say?!?!

Nathan walked towards Crystal. She looked nervous and afraid, and his heart was breaking for her. He believed her. Because all the evidence was pointing at her, though, he could not declare her innocence. Not knowing what else to do, he turned to Crystal and said, "Go and apologize to Helen for trying to kill her baby." 

When Helen heard this, she glared at Nathan and said, "Nathan, I won't accept her apology. Even though the baby lived, you could have killed it by refusing to let me eat. So, what's the point of going through with this pregnancy? I don't see any point, not if this is the way that you're going to 'care' for us?"

"I promise it won't happen again," Nathan replied. Then he turned back to Crystal and said, "Apologies!"

"I didn't do it!" Crystal cried.. She clenched and unclenched her fists angrily at her sides. "And I won't admit to doing something I didn't do!"