I met his eyes.
“Maybe they wanted me to ask questions.”
“Those aren’t mutually exclusive.”
“No.”
He let go.
The photo returned to my hand.
Behind me, Lily murmured in her sleep.
Both of us turned toward the sound.
That tiny movement broke the tension.
Adrian lowered his voice.
“You should rest.”
“You keep saying that.”
“You keep not doing it.”
“I’ve had a strange day.”
“That may be the understatement of the year.”
For a moment, we simply stood there.
Then I said, “I want to know who booked that seat.”
“So do I.”
“But I want the answer tomorrow. Not in some private report three weeks from now.”
“You’ll have whatever we can legally get.”
“We?”
“You.”
He corrected himself immediately.
“You’ll have whatever you can legally obtain. If you want help requesting it, Daniel can explain the process. That’s all.”
I studied him.
“You really think about every word, don’t you?”
“When people quote you for a living, you learn.”
“That sounds exhausting.”
“It is.”
For the first time that night, his smile reached his eyes.
Only briefly.
Then he glanced at the photograph again.
“May I ask one question?”
“Yes.”
“Why was Ethan investigating Northbridge?”
I should have refused.
Instead I said, “He says there were financial discrepancies.”
Adrian’s smile disappeared.
“What kind?”
“Medical supplies paid for but never delivered.”
He went absolutely still.
Not surprised.
Not exactly.
Recognizing something.
I saw it.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
I stared at him.
He sighed.
“You’re right. That was a terrible answer.”
“What did you remember?”
Adrian looked toward the window at the far end of the hallway.
“Caroline once complained about treatment delays.”
My pulse quickened.
“What kind of delays?”
“Medication. Equipment. I don’t know. At the time we assumed it was normal hospital bureaucracy.”
“Did she ever mention Northbridge?”
“No.”
“Did you investigate?”
“She was sick.”
His voice tightened.
“I was trying to be her brother, not the CEO of a healthcare company.”
That silenced me.
Regret passed across his face with such naked clarity that I felt ashamed for pushing.
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to be.”
“Yes, I do.”
He looked at me.
“I’m beginning to understand something.”
“What?”
“Everyone around this situation seems to have decided what other people should be allowed to know.”
The sentence settled between us.
Ethan protecting me.
Sam warning Ethan.
