“You wanted Wyatt,” I said.
She stared at the floor.
“At first, I wanted what you had. Mom kept telling me you had stolen my future. She said Grandpa meant to leave everything to me until you manipulated him.”
“You believed her?”
“I needed to.”
The honesty hurt.
“If I admitted she was lying, then I had to admit my entire life was built on lies.”
Wyatt remained silent, though his hand never left mine.
Detective Beckett opened another folder.
“Federal agents raided Virex Medical’s regional offices this morning.”
“Did they find evidence?” I asked.
“More than expected. Payments to your parents. Surveillance records. Copies of your medical files.”
Melanie looked sick.
“They watched us?”
“For years.”
A federal prosecutor named Rachel Sloan joined us by video.
“Virex believed Harold’s treatment had long-term genetic consequences,” she explained.
“What consequences?”
“We don’t know yet. But they tracked both of you because they suspected the effects could be inherited.”
