Chapter 4 - Why Nora was terrified
Nora was not a mysterious stranger.
She was the assistant banquet manager.
Thirty.
Four years at the hotel.
She was responsible for beverage service that night.
Approximately fifteen minutes before Lily warned me, Nora saw Vanessa near the service station.
Guests were not supposed to enter that area.
Nora approached.
Vanessa said:
“Graham asked me to add his supplement.”
Nora noticed a small paper medication envelope.
No label visible.
She asked:
“What supplement?”
Vanessa responded:
“Sleep support. He has trouble after these events.”
That should have ended it.
Nora should have removed the glass.
Instead she hesitated.
Why?
Vanessa was on the host committee.
She had been presented publicly as my partner.
She spoke confidently.
Nora worried about humiliating an important guest.
Then a server accidentally dropped a tray in the kitchen.
Nora turned.
When she looked back, Vanessa had left.
Minutes later Nora found an empty white medication envelope in a service trash bin.
Still no proof it was connected.
Then she saw Lily pulling me toward the curtain.
Nora’s concern became panic.
She ran out.
“Please, sir… don’t drink it.”
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That decision mattered.
So did the hesitation before it.
