Chapter 4 - The Kitchen Secret
Panicked, Nora searched the crowded ballroom, her heart hammering against her ribs. She couldn't find Judith, and she couldn't hear Lily crying anymore.
Ten minutes earlier, frustrated by the baby’s loud crying ruining her perfect party aesthetic, Judith had quickly carried Lily out of the ballroom and into the massive, empty catering kitchen. Ryan had followed them, trying to act like a supportive father.
"She's just hungry, Mom," Ryan had said nervously, watching his mother bounce the screaming infant. "I should go get Nora. It's time for her to eat."
"Nonsense," Judith snapped coldly, refusing to hand the baby over. "Nora's milk supply is terrible anyway. The baby isn't hungry, she's just colicky. I know exactly how to handle this."
Judith reached into her expensive designer purse resting on the marble counter. She pulled out a small, old, unauthorized tube of oral numbing gel—a product she had kept in her medicine cabinet for years.
Ryan recognized the tube instantly. During a prenatal class, the pediatrician had explicitly warned them never to use over-the-counter oral numbing gels containing benzocaine on infants under two years old, as it could cause a rare but potentially fatal condition that drastically drops the oxygen levels in the blood. Nora had specifically banned the product from their home.
"Mom, wait," Ryan stammered, taking a weak step forward. "The doctor said we absolutely cannot use that stuff on a newborn. Nora threw out the tube you bought."
"The doctor is an idiot, and your wife is a paranoid child," Judith hissed, aggressively twisting the cap off the small tube. "I used this on you for months, and you turned out perfectly fine. I am not having a screaming baby ruin my entire afternoon."
Ryan, entirely spineless and terrified of confronting his aggressive mother, stood in absolute silence. He watched as Judith squeezed a generous, highly dangerous amount of the numbing gel onto her manicured finger and rubbed it aggressively along the two-week-old newborn's delicate gums.
Within minutes, Lily stopped crying. The heavy, toxic sedative effect took hold quickly.
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Satisfied with her terrifying handiwork, Judith carried the suddenly quiet baby back out into the grand ballroom, straight toward the horrific confrontation.
👉 Read Part 5 to return to the terrifying moment the doctor intervened.
