“Evan… What Did You Put in That Cupcake?” – The Shocking Attempted Murder of a Pregnant Woman by Her Husband and His Lover
Chapter 1: Deadly Sweetness
It was a typical Friday evening in Montclair. Snow was beginning to fall lightly outside the kitchen window, blanketing my husband’s BMW parked in the driveway in a white dust. Inside, the fireplace crackled, and the air was filled with the sweet scent of vanilla.
I, Sarah Vance, was 34 weeks pregnant. My belly was quite large, and my back ached terribly. I sat on the kitchen counter, rubbing my stomach, feeling the gentle kicks of my soon-to-be-born daughter.
“Honey, I have something for you.”
My husband, Evan, walked into the kitchen. He hid his hands behind his back, flashing the charming smile I had loved so much five years ago. Evan was a pharmacist, always neat, clean, and thoughtful.
“What is it?” I asked, smiling weakly.
Evan handed me a small plate. On top of it was a Red Velvet Cupcake – my favorite kind – with a perfectly frosted white cream cheese frosting.
“I bought it at Magnolia Bakery on the way home,” Evan said, placing the cupcake in front of me. “I know you’ve been craving something sweet lately. Eat this to keep the baby healthy.”
I looked at the cupcake. It looked delicious. I picked it up and took a big bite.
The sweetness of the sugar and the richness of the cheese spread. But then, another taste hit me.
A bitter taste. Acrid.
It lurked beneath the frosting, seeping down my throat. It tasted like… crushed medicine, or some kind of metallic chemical.
I froze. I didn’t swallow.
I looked at Evan. He was leaning against the sink, arms crossed, watching me intently. Too intently. His gaze wasn’t loving, but expectant. Impatience.
A gut feeling told me something was terribly wrong. I was a pastry chef before my maternity leave. I knew the taste of Red Velvet. It never tasted this bitter unless they accidentally put baking soda in it, or… something else in it.
I spat the piece of cake onto a paper towel.
“What’s wrong?” Evan asked immediately, his voice tense. “Not good?”
I looked at the dark red filling. There were tiny white specks that hadn’t dissolved completely, not sugar.
I looked up, staring directly at the man I call my husband.
“Evan… What did you put in that cupcake?”
Chapter 2: The Curtain Falls
The smile on Evan’s lips vanished. His handsome face hardened, becoming cold and distant.
“What nonsense are you talking about? It’s just sugar,” Evan stepped forward, intending to snatch the cake.
I pulled my hand back. “It’s not sugar. It’s bitter. And it smells like almonds. You’re a pharmacist, Evan. Do you know what almond smells like? Cyanide? Or some kind of abortion pill?”
“You’re crazy, Sarah. Pregnancy hormones are making you paranoid.”
“Paranoid?” I stood up, backing away. “Then why did I see you secretly texting in the middle of the night last week? Why was $50,000 withdrawn from our joint account without any explanation? And why… why does Chloe have a key to our house?”
Evan froze.
The garage door opened.
Chloe walked in.
She’s my best friend from college. The one who set me up with Evan. The one who comforted me whenever I argued with my husband. She was wearing Evan’s jacket, holding a glass of red wine.
“I told him you weren’t stupid, Sarah,” Chloe said, her tone so brazen it made me nauseous.
“Chloe?” I stammered, clutching my pregnant belly. “You… what are you doing here?”
“To watch you die,” Chloe shrugged, as casually as if she were talking about the weather.
Evan walked over to Chloe and put his arm around her waist. My picture of a happy family shattered into a thousand pieces before my eyes.
“Sarah,” Evan said, his voice devoid of any emotion. “You have to die. Or at least, the baby has to die.”
“Why?” I screamed.
“For money, you fool,” Evan sneered. “I owe the gamblers $200,000. And you… you just bought a $2 million life insurance policy for both of you last month. I’m the beneficiary.”
“In that cake…” I looked at the cake on the table.
“It’s high doses of Mifepristone and Misoprostol, mixed with a little sedative,” Evan confessed, his face beaming with pride at his pharmacological knowledge. “It’ll cause violent uterine contractions. She’ll miscarry, she’ll bleed. And with her history of anemia… the doctor will think it’s a tragic obstetric accident. I’ll be the grieving widower, and Chloe will be the comforting best friend.”
“But you didn’t eat,” Chloe hissed, glaring at me with resentment. “You always mess things up, Sarah. You’re always luckier than me. You have a better job, a more handsome husband. But today it’s all over.”
Chloe pulled a pistol from her bag.
“Evan, Plan A is ruined. Let’s switch to Plan B.”
“Plan B?” Evan asked, slightly hesitant at the sight of the gun.
“Stage a robbery and murder,” Chloe said coldly, pointing the gun at me. “Shoot him. Then shoot me in the shoulder as proof I tried to save him. Simple.”
I recoiled, bumping into the refrigerator. I was cornered. Two deranged men stood before me, and in
My belly held a tiny life stirring within me.
Chapter 3: The Pregnant Woman’s Twist
“Don’t do that, Evan,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm to buy time. “You won’t get away. The security cameras…”
“I’ve turned them off,” Evan chuckled. “I’m well prepared.”
“What about my phone?”
“It’s in the bedroom. You can’t call anyone there.”
Chloe approached. “Put your hands on your head. Kneel.”
I slowly knelt down on the cold kitchen floor. I looked at Chloe, then at Evan.
“Do you think you’re so smart?” I asked.
“Smarter than you,” Chloe sneered. She placed her finger on the trigger.
“Evan,” I said, my eyes never leaving my husband. “Do you remember I’m a taste tester for restaurants?”
“So what?”
“My sense of taste is very sensitive. I recognized the drug the moment it touched my lips. But do you know why I wasn’t surprised to see Chloe here?”
Evan frowned. “What did you say?”
“Because,” I smiled, a cold smile that made Chloe freeze. “Because I read your messages three months ago.”
Evan’s face changed color.
“I synced your messages to my iPad, Evan. I know about the debt. I know about the failed car crash attempt last month. And I knew about this ‘Cupcake Plan’ this morning, when you texted Chloe: ‘Bought the drugs, act tonight.'”
“You knew… so why did you still eat it?” Chloe yelled.
“I didn’t eat it,” I stood up, brushing off my knees. “And I’m not some stupid victim waiting to die.”
I looked Evan straight in the eyes.
“You said you turned off your home security cameras? Right. But you forgot one thing. This is a smart home.”
I yelled, “ALEXA! ACTIVATE PROTOCOL!”
The Amazon Echo smart speaker on top of the refrigerator flashed red.
Immediately, a deafening alarm blared throughout the house. The lights in the house began flashing repeatedly between red and white (alarm mode).
“What the hell is that?” Chloe covered her ears, panicking.
“That’s a silent intrusion alarm connected directly to the local Sheriff,” I said loudly to drown out the alarm. “And more importantly…”
I pointed to the Samsung smart refrigerator screen (the touchscreen kind).
On that screen, a line of text appeared: “LIVESTREAMING TO FACEBOOK – 5,000 VIEWERS.”
“I set Alexa to automatically stream live from the refrigerator camera as soon as I said the keyword. The entire conversation… about poison, about insurance, about the fake robbery… It was streamed live to 5,000 people, including my family, my friends, and possibly the police.”
Evan collapsed to the floor. He stared at the refrigerator screen, where his face was clearly visible next to Chloe’s gun.
“No… it can’t be…” he muttered.
Chloe was furious. She pointed the gun at me. “I’ll kill you! I’m going to jail anyway, I’ll drag you down with me!”
She pulled the trigger.
CLICK.
The gun didn’t fire.
Chloe pulled the trigger repeatedly. Click. Click. Click.
I stepped forward, snatched the gun from her hand, and slammed the butt of the gun into Chloe’s face, sending her sprawling.
“This gun,” I said, looking down at the two pathetic figures. “It’s the gun my father gave Evan for self-defense. I know where he hid it. And this afternoon, while you were out buying pastries, I removed the firing pin.”
Evan looked at me as if I were a monster. He no longer recognized his gentle, meek wife.
“You… you planned all this?”
“I’m a mother, Evan,” I said, rubbing my belly. “And a mother will do anything, become anyone, to protect her child from demons. Even if that demon is its father.”
Chapter End: Police Sirens
The front door was flung open. The SWAT team stormed into the house.
“Police! Lie down!”
Evan and Chloe were handcuffed on the spot. The livestream evidence was undeniable. They were charged with Conspiracy to Murder, Insurance Fraud, and Illegally Possessing a Weapon.
As the police escorted Evan past me, he stopped, looking at me with pleading eyes.
“Sarah… I’m sorry… I was under pressure…”
I didn’t look at him. I picked up the Red Velvet Cupcake from the table.
“Eat it,” I said coldly, shoving the cupcake in his face. “You said it was delicious. Eat it so the baby will be healthy.”
Evan turned away, utterly humiliated.
Six months later.
I sat on the porch, holding my little daughter, Hope, in my arms. She was healthy, beautiful, and completely unaware that she had nearly been killed by her own father before she was born.
I had sold the house. I moved to another city. The money I earned from selling the rights to the story “The Cupcake Case” to Netflix was enough for the two of us to live comfortably for the rest of our lives.
I looked down at Hope.
“I’ll teach you how to bake,” I whispered. “But more importantly, I will teach you how to taste the bitterness of life so you will never be deceived by layers of artificial sweetness.”
I lost a husband, a best friend. But I kept my life and my dignity.
And I know that whenever I see a Red Velvet cake, I will not feel fear. I will feel victory.
