Marianne unfolded the paper.
Her face changed.
“What does it say?” I asked.
She looked at Adrian first.
Then at me.
“It says, ‘Ask Adrian what happened to the first child.’”
The room went utterly silent.
I turned to Adrian.
All the color had drained from his face.
“What first child?” I whispered.
Adrian did not answer.
PART 3 — FINAL PART
“What first child?” I whispered.
Adrian Cross stood at the foot of my hospital bed as if the question had struck him harder than any accusation ever could. For a man who moved through the world with private jets, silent assistants, and signatures worth millions, he suddenly looked powerless.
Marianne Voss did not speak. Dr. Walsh glanced from him to me, reading the room with the careful attention of someone who knew when a secret might do as much damage as an injury.
The monitors beside my bed continued their soft, steady rhythm.
