The number was still too high.<\/p>\n
Not by much.<\/p>\n
That was what made waiting unbearable.<\/p>\n
Dr. Shah wrote Samuel\u2019s threshold on the whiteboard beside Sophie\u2019s bed and underneath it wrote the latest hCG result. The difference between the two values looked insignificant to me. A handful of digits separated my daughter from the treatment we had crossed gunfire, lies, abandoned laboratories and twenty years of family history to recover.<\/p>\n
\u201cAgain,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe drew blood forty minutes ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen draw it again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Shah did not become impatient. I almost wished she would.<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire, the value won\u2019t fall meaningfully every forty minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt might.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt might also fluctuate enough to give us a misleading result.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the sealed case containing Laura\u2019s reversal protocol.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we wait.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sophie opened one eye.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re bad at waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m excellent at waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel, sitting beside the window, said, \u201cYou reorganized the kitchen while waiting for a plumber.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt needed reorganizing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou alphabetized the spices.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was efficient.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sophie smiled faintly.<\/p>\n
Then the smile disappeared.<\/p>\n
Her hand moved toward her temple.<\/p>\n
Daniel noticed first.<\/p>\n
\u201cHead?\u201d<\/p>\n
She nodded.<\/p>\n
Dr. Shah was beside her immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow bad?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeven.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sophie had learned the hospital\u2019s pain scale.<\/p>\n
Yesterday she had called it a five.<\/p>\n
Dr. Shah checked her pupils.<\/p>\n
The left was reactive.<\/p>\n
The right too.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny nausea?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA little.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVision?\u201d<\/p>\n
Sophie looked toward the ceiling.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe light has fuzzy edges.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Shah called Dr. Chen.<\/p>\n
Within twenty minutes, Sophie was back inside the scanner.<\/p>\n
I waited with Daniel in the corridor.<\/p>\n
The reversal case remained under federal guard.<\/p>\n
Everything that might save Sophie now required armed protection.<\/p>\n
Daniel rested his elbows on his knees.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou haven\u2019t slept.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNeither have you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI slept forty minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCongratulations.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI dreamed I was still awake.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat seems inefficient.\u201d<\/p>\n
He smiled without looking at me.<\/p>\n
Then his expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know you don\u2019t have to be strong every second.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are with Sophie.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe has enough to carry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd with Eric.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has enough guilt.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Samuel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has a bullet wound.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd me?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
He finally turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith me, you keep saying you\u2019re fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
I wanted to argue.<\/p>\n
Instead I leaned against him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m terrified.\u201d<\/p>\n
His arm came around me.<\/p>\n
\u201cMe too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if we waited all this time and the reversal hurts her anyway?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if chemotherapy clears Kevin and then another tumor appears?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
He squeezed my shoulder.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can do the what-ifs with you. I just can\u2019t answer them.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was enough.<\/p>\n
Dr. Chen appeared.<\/p>\n
We stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe tumor has decreased in size.\u201d<\/p>\n
Relief came too quickly.<\/p>\n
Then I saw his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe surrounding inflammation has increased.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow can it shrink and still make things worse?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs tumor cells break down, they can provoke swelling. The lesion\u2019s location gives us very little room for that swelling.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBrain surgery?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sophie would have appreciated the phrase.<\/p>\n
Not yet.<\/p>\n
Dr. Chen continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll increase steroids and monitor intracranial pressure closely.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the reversal?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot until Dr. Shah\u2019s threshold is met.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if the swelling gets worse first?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen we treat the swelling.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer sounded simple.<\/p>\n
Nothing about it was.<\/p>\n
Sophie returned sleepy and irritated.<\/p>\n
\u201cKevin is shrinking?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why does my head hurt more?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Kevin is a bad loser,\u201d Daniel said.<\/p>\n
Sophie considered that.<\/p>\n
\u201cAccurate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her humor lasted another hour.<\/p>\n
Then she vomited.<\/p>\n
The headache climbed to eight.<\/p>\n
Dr. Chen returned.<\/p>\n
Medication increased.<\/p>\n
Lights dimmed.<\/p>\n
Visitors restricted.<\/p>\n
Eric watched through the glass until Sophie noticed him.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome in.\u201d<\/p>\n
He hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you sure?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re making the hallway weird.\u201d<\/p>\n
He entered.<\/p>\n
She looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid they arrest Voss?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSamuel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn surgery.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs he going to die?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sophie frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody really likes that answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eric sat.<\/p>\n
She studied him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWould you be sad?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Samuel died?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eric took a long time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think so.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEven though he\u2019s bad?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he\u2019s my father.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sophie nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cComplicated.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVery.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at him again.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you bad?\u201d<\/p>\n
Eric\u2019s face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did bad things.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat wasn\u2019t my question.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nearly smiled.<\/p>\n
She had inherited my mother\u2019s refusal to accept convenient wording.<\/p>\n
Eric answered carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think people are only one thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel isn\u2019t bad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked uncomfortable.<\/p>\n
Eric glanced at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDefinitely not.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sophie pointed toward herself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI stole Maya\u2019s glitter pen once.\u201d<\/p>\n
I blinked.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told me she gave it to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe did not.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel covered his mouth.<\/p>\n
Sophie sighed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m confessing because everybody else is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eric laughed softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo what happened to the pen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI gave it back.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you apologize?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen maybe that\u2019s part of the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBetween what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoing something wrong and deciding wrong is who you are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sophie thought about that.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you give back what you took?\u201d<\/p>\n
Eric looked toward the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you take?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTime.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Mom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you give that back?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
She absorbed that quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen do useful stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m trying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
After he left, Sophie fell asleep.<\/p>\n
Her hCG was tested again at six that evening.<\/p>\n
Still above the threshold.<\/p>\n
Closer.<\/p>\n
But above.<\/p>\n
Dr. Shah refused to move early.<\/p>\n
I hated her for three minutes.<\/p>\n
Then loved her for refusing to become Samuel.<\/p>\n
At eight, Samuel came out of surgery alive.<\/p>\n
The bullet had damaged his liver but missed major vessels.<\/p>\n
He was stable.<\/p>\n
Maria visited him under federal supervision.<\/p>\n
Eric did not.<\/p>\n
At ten, Sophie\u2019s headache suddenly disappeared.<\/p>\n
That should have been good.<\/p>\n
Dr. Chen did not treat it that way.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy are you worried?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRapid changes can mean pressure shifted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another neurological exam.<\/p>\n
Another scan.<\/p>\n
Another hallway.<\/p>\n
This time Dr. Chen returned faster.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe swelling is beginning to decrease.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDefinitely?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost hugged him.<\/p>\n
Sophie\u2019s hCG result arrived at 11:38.<\/p>\n
Dr. Shah stared at it.<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cBelow?\u201d<\/p>\n
She nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cBelow.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room became perfectly still.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen we do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need a confirming value.\u201d<\/p>\n
My patience broke.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. We reached the number.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne result can be wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou trust laboratories for everything until they tell me what I want.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stepped beside me.<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned on him.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
He lowered his voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour mother died because someone moved before the evidence was safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
That stopped me.<\/p>\n
Laura.<\/p>\n
Her final treatment.<\/p>\n
Samuel\u2019s hidden data.<\/p>\n
A reversal given at the wrong moment.<\/p>\n
I sat.<\/p>\n
\u201cConfirm it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another blood draw.<\/p>\n
Sophie barely woke.<\/p>\n
We waited ninety minutes.<\/p>\n
The second result came back lower.<\/p>\n
Not borderline.<\/p>\n
Clearly below.<\/p>\n
Dr. Shah looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow.\u201d<\/p>\n
The reversal protocol began shortly after two in the morning.<\/p>\n
Not with the calibrated sequence.<\/p>\n
First came the suppression stage.<\/p>\n
A slow infusion designed to silence the old vector.<\/p>\n
Sophie woke as the medication entered.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs this Grandma\u2019s thing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one that could be dangerous?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at Dr. Shah.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre we doing it right?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re doing it as carefully as we know how.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sophie nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
I held her hand.<\/p>\n
Daniel held the other.<\/p>\n
Thirty minutes.<\/p>\n
No reaction.<\/p>\n
One hour.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
Two hours.<\/p>\n
Her temperature rose half a degree.<\/p>\n
Then stopped.<\/p>\n
Blood pressure steady.<\/p>\n
Heart rate steady.<\/p>\n
At dawn, Dr. Shah allowed herself to smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cStage one is complete.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the sealed vial marked S-M10.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd stage two?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTomorrow, if her labs remain stable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sophie whispered, \u201cKevin?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStill shrinking.\u201d<\/p>\n
She smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell him I said bye.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then my phone rang.<\/p>\n
Agent Bell.<\/p>\n
I answered quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe recovered additional NorthStar records from Ridgeway.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you find?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA document involving Laura.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bell paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt changes the timeline of her final treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reversal wasn\u2019t administered on the day she died.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared through the window.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you saying?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was administered three days earlier.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what happened the day she died?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe found a medication order.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom Samuel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaria?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bell\u2019s voice hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas Voss.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stopped breathing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat medication?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA second experimental infusion.\u201d<\/p>\n
The world tilted again.<\/p>\n
Samuel had changed the death certificate.<\/p>\n
Maria had helped.<\/p>\n
But neither had told me there had been another drug.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re asking Voss.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Laura requested it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you believe him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not making that call.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas Samuel there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaria?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen they both knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My anger returned with extraordinary clarity.<\/p>\n
Every confession had contained another omission.<\/p>\n
Every truth had been measured.<\/p>\n
Samuel had admitted Laura died after the reversal.<\/p>\n
He had never said someone treated her again.<\/p>\n
I looked toward the secured trauma floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen can Samuel talk?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably later today.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Because before Sophie received stage two, I wanted the final truth about what happened to the first woman who ever tried it.<\/p>\n
And this time, nobody was leaving the room until I had it.<\/p>\n
The number was still too high. Not by much. That was what made waiting unbearable. Dr. Shah wrote Samuel\u2019s threshold on the whiteboard beside Sophie\u2019s bed and underneath it wrote … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12251,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12285"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12328,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12285\/revisions\/12328"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}