“Elena, listen.”
“No.”
“I thought—”
“You thought I was dead because you watched me disappear into Evermere River.”
Vanessa whispered:
“Hang up.”
I heard her.
“So did you, Vanessa.”
My sister froze.
“Elena—”
“I saw you on the bank.”
Silence.
Adrian started walking toward the door.
Two investigators entered.
Not dramatic.
No guns.
No shouting.
They simply told him he was being detained for questioning regarding the vehicle incident and suspected corporate fraud.
Adrian shouted that he wanted an attorney.
Vanessa began crying.
But Adrian’s father was nowhere.
And we still did not have the proof Noah wanted.
Proof connecting the old conspiracy to our parents.
So the story was not finished.
The laboratory results came back two days later.
A harmful compound was present in my blood.
The same class of compound appeared in residue from my facial serum and one of the supplement containers Adrian kept in our kitchen.
Not enough to tell investigators exactly how long he had been administering it.
Enough to prove I had not imagined my symptoms.
I sat inside a hospital consultation room while the doctor explained possible long-term effects.
Noah sat beside me.
Standing.
I still wasn’t used to that.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked suddenly.
He knew I wasn’t talking about Adrian.
“My legs?”
“Yes.”
Noah leaned back.
“Because every time I came close, something happened.”
“What?”
“A Mercer account got breached.”
“A source disappeared.”
“One investigator was threatened.”
“I convinced myself pretending to be harmless protected both of us.”
“For fourteen years.”
