Chapter Twenty-Five: The Things Buried Don’t Stay Silent

The knock came again.

Harder this time.

Nathaniel moved first, instinct sharp and dangerous. He stepped in front of Iris, one hand subtly reaching behind his back where his jacket hung, fingers brushing the cold weight of the burner phone he never left behind.

“Stay back,” he whispered.

Iris’s heart hammered as he opened the door just enough to see who stood on the other side.

Not security.

Not police.

A woman.

Mid-forties. Sharp eyes. Hospital ID clipped to her coat.

“Dr. Hale,” she said quietly. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“And yet,” he replied coolly, “neither should you, Dr. Monroe.”

Iris stiffened. The name rang a bell. Former senior cardiologist. Disappeared after a “voluntary resignation.”

“You have something that belongs to us,” Monroe said, glancing past him into the apartment.

Nathaniel didn’t move. “You mean the truth?”

Her mouth tightened. “You don’t understand what you’re holding.”

“I understand exactly,” he said. “That’s why you’re here.”

Monroe exhaled slowly. “They sent me to offer you a deal.”

Nathaniel laughed once. Bitter. “They always do.”

“Return the file,” she said. “Disappear quietly. And the girl stays untouched.”

Iris sucked in a sharp breath.

Nathaniel’s expression turned lethal.

“You don’t bargain with people who threaten my family,” he said.

Monroe’s gaze flicked to Iris. “You’re not his family.”

Nathaniel turned then, his hand cupping Iris’s face with a tenderness that felt almost sacred.

“She is,” he said simply.

Monroe paled.

“You’ve chosen the hardest path,” she murmured.

“Good,” he replied. “I was bored.”

She stepped back. “By morning, this becomes public. Or bloody.”

The door shut.

Silence followed, thick and shaking.

Nathaniel locked the door and leaned his forehead against it for a moment. When he turned around, Iris was already crying.

“I don’t want to be the reason you lose everything,” she whispered.

He crossed the room in three steps and pulled her into his arms.

“You’re the reason I’m fighting,” he said. “There’s a difference.”

She clung to him, fingers digging into his skin like she needed proof he was still real.

“What’s in the file?” she asked softly.

He hesitated.

Then he pulled out his phone and handed it to her.

Hospital records. Altered reports. Patients who had died during experimental procedures never approved. Consent forged. Blame shifted.

“And Selena?” Iris asked, voice shaking.

Nathaniel’s jaw tightened. “Her father signed off on the funding.”

Iris’s knees weakened.

“She knew,” she whispered.

“She’s known all along.”

The weight of it crushed the air between them.

“They’ll destroy you,” Iris said.

Nathaniel looked at her, something raw and unguarded in his eyes. “Then let me burn bright doing it.”

Emotion surged too fast, too strong. Fear. Love. Need.

She kissed him.

Hard.

Desperate.

As if tomorrow might never come.

His hands roamed her body like he was memorizing every curve, every breath. Their clothes fell away without thought, urgency guiding them as he lifted her onto the bed.

“This is reckless,” he breathed against her skin.

“I don’t care,” she whispered.

Neither did he.

The night swallowed them whole.

Morning came too fast.

Nathaniel was already dressed when Iris woke, her body aching in the most dangerous way.

“Where are you going?” she asked, panic rising.

“To end this,” he said softly.

Her phone buzzed before she could respond.

A message.

From Selena.

You should check the news.

Iris opened the link.

Breaking headline.

CARDIOLOGY TRAINEE LINKED TO ILLEGAL DATA LEAK. ARREST WARRANT ISSUED.

Her blood ran cold.

“They’re blaming me,” she whispered.

Nathaniel froze.

And then the doorbell rang.

Once.

Twice.

Police sirens wailed outside.

And this time…

They weren’t here for him.