Because I was running clinical files.
Why would I trust you?
Elena looked down.
Because my sister died on the same show.
That silenced me.
“I was twenty-four. He was diagnosed with a hematological disease shortly after participating in another Halcyon trial. I started checking files that I should not review.
And did you find my children?
“I found a lot of names.
How many?
Seventeen children.
I had to sit down.
Seventeen?
Not everyone got sick. But several yes.
“And no one spoke?”
Elena let out a bitter laugh.
Halcyon paid for treatment. Agreements. Consultations. Some families never knew there was a connection.
“Genevieve yes?”
Because it was Genevieve Mercer.
For the first time I almost smiled.
Yes.
My wife could be unbearably stubborn when she knew someone was lying.
“He found me,” Elena continued. He asked me about a code that appeared in an old medical file of the twins. At first I lied.
Why?
“I was scared.
“And then?”
He showed me pictures of Jonah and Blythe.
Elena started crying.
“And he asked me if I
I could still be afraid if they were my children.
I looked at the door.
My kids were just a few halls away.
Dying.
What did they discover?
“That Halcyon had developed a therapy specifically targeting the mechanism that was causing the disease in certain patients of the program.
I stood up.
Is there a treatment?
“Experimental.
Does it work?
In some cases.
“Where?
Elena kept quiet.
“Where is she?”
“Halcyon.
I stared at her.
“Sloane has a therapy for my kids and has let the doctors tell me they’re going to die.
Not exactly.
“Then explain yourself very carefully.
The original therapy was too dangerous. Then they developed a modified version. Genevieve found promising preliminary results. But to recognize that Jonah and Blythe were candidates would mean admitting how they had entered the program.
“So Sloane preferred to let them die.
I don’t know what Sloane personally decided.
That precision made me trust her more.
I wasn’t inventing.
It separated what I knew from the
that I suspected.
The door opened.
Franklin came in.
He looked at Elena.
Then the report.
His face changed.
Where did he get this?
“Do you recognize it?” I asked.
He did not respond immediately.
Franklin.
I recognize some markers.
Can you save them?
He took the documents.
He read for almost five minutes.
No one spoke.
He finally looked up.
If this is genuine, there is a possibility.
I felt my heart beat my chest.
How much?
I can’t give you a percentage.
“Then give me something.
“Lawson, the kids are extremely weak. Even if we get the therapy, I could kill them.
You’ve already told me they have ten days.
Franklin closed her eyes.
“Yes.
“Then get the therapy.
I can’t just go into Halcyon and take her.
“I do.
Elena immediately denied.
That’s exactly what Genevieve feared.
I looked at her.
What?
“React like Lawson Mercer.
