Chapter 4 - The Lie That Lasted Seven Years
Malcolm Voss walked into my study smiling.
Then he saw Lily.
His smile disappeared.
"Adrian."
"Sit down."
"Who is this?"
"You know."
"No, I don't."
Lily stepped forward.
"You sent me the letters."
Voss looked at her.
"I have never met you."
"She didn't say you met her," Daniel said.
Voss froze.
A mistake.
Small.
Fatal.
I leaned back.
"You told me Eleanor died."
"She did."
"You signed the report."
"I did."
"Did my child die?"
"Yes."
"Boy or girl?"
Voss hesitated.
The original report said son.
"Boy."
I watched Lily.
Then returned my eyes to him.
"Interesting."
"Why?"
"Because Eleanor never knew the baby's sex."
Voss's face changed.
Neither had I.
We had wanted it to be a surprise.
I continued.
"The official report called the child male because someone needed me to stop searching."
Voss stood.
"This is absurd."
Daniel blocked him.
"Sit."
"Adrian, control your employee."
"No."
Voss turned toward me.
"You are traumatized. You're seeing patterns—"
"DNA."
One word stopped him.
I hadn't run a test.
Yet.
Voss didn't know that.
His face drained.
I knew.
"There's no DNA test," I said quietly.
Voss realized too late.
Lily covered her mouth.
I wheeled closer.
"Why?"
Voss looked toward the windows.
"You wouldn't understand."
"Try me."
He laughed bitterly.
"You were going to expose the program."
"What program?"
"The research division."
I remembered.
Experimental nerve-regeneration technology.
My company had discovered that trial data was being manipulated.
I planned to shut the project down.
Voss continued.
"Billions of dollars. Defense contracts. Patents. You were going to destroy everything."
"So you destroyed the facility?"
"No."
"Who?"
Voss said nothing.
"Who?"
"Victor Hale."
My company's former chairman.
A man who had died two years earlier.
"He ordered the explosion," Voss said. "I helped cover it up."
"And Eleanor?"
"She wasn't supposed to be there."
My throat tightened.
"She survived?"
"Initially."
Lily whispered, "Where is she?"
Voss looked at her.
"She died three days later."
Lily staggered.
Maria caught her.
I closed my eyes.
At least now I knew.
Eleanor had survived long enough to fight.
"What about Lily?"
Voss exhaled.
"Eleanor went into premature labor. The baby survived."
"Why not give her to me?"
"Because Eleanor had regained consciousness."
"And?"
"She heard Hale discussing the explosion."
Lily whispered, "So I was evidence."
"Yes."
I looked at Voss.
"You stole my daughter."
"Hale did."
"You helped."
He said nothing.
"And my hands?"
Voss looked away.
Claire suddenly spoke.
"What about his hands?"
Nobody moved.
She stepped toward Voss.
"The regenerative treatment."
Voss stared at her.
Claire understood.
"You had a therapy."
My heartbeat accelerated.
"Malcolm?"
Voss whispered, "Experimental."
"For how long?"
"Six years."
My voice almost failed.
"You let me believe there was no treatment?"
"It wasn't guaranteed."
"You watched ninety-eight specialists tell me my hands were dead."
"I was protecting the company."
I stared at the man I'd once called my friend.
Then Lily stepped between us.
"Don't."
I looked at her.
"He stole our lives."
"I know."
"Then why are you protecting him?"
"I'm not."
She looked at Voss.
"I'm protecting you from becoming the man he told me you were."
That stopped me.
I lowered my hand.
"Daniel."
"Sir?"
"Call federal authorities."
Voss laughed.
"You think this ends with me?"
"No."
May you like
I looked at Lily.
"It starts with you."
