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.”
“Yes.”
“You let me mourn a version of you that wasn’t real.”
His face tightened.
“I know.”
I looked at him.
“I understand why.”
“That doesn’t mean I forgive it yet.”
“Fair.”
Then he smiled slightly.
“Progress.”
“Don’t push it.”
The investigators eventually released Vanessa pending the financial inquiry.
Unlike Adrian, she had not touched the vehicle.
Her involvement in the attempted transfer was easier to prove than her knowledge of what happened at the river.
She called me repeatedly.
I ignored her.
Then she sent one message.
I can prove what happened to Mom and Dad.
Noah believed it was manipulation.
I agreed.
