The Autopsy

Victor died at 3:47 AM.

I was not there. My mother was. She held his hand while he took his last breath. She did not cry. She told me that later. In the hospital hallway. White walls. White floors. The smell of antiseptic and endings.

"He asked about you," she said.

"What did he say?"

"He said to tell you he was proud. And that he was sorry. And that he loved you."

"Did he love you?"

My mother looked at me. Her green eyes were red.

"I do not know. I like to think he did. At the end."

"Does it matter?"

"Yes. It matters."

"Why?"

"Because I loved him. Even after everything. Even after the lies and the betrayal and the fear. I loved him."

I did not know what to say. So I took her hand. We stood in the hallway. The sun was rising. Pink and gold. The same colors as the day before. The same colors as every day.

"What happens now?" she asked.

"Now we go home. We bury him. We figure out the rest."

"The rest?"

"Drake. The files. The empire."

My mother nodded. "The empire."

Rex was waiting at the house.

He stood in the garden. Among the roses. Red and white. Love and death. He turned when he saw me. His face was tired. His eyes were soft.

"How are you?"

"I am fine."

"You are not fine. You are lying."

"I am fine enough."

He walked to me. Took my hands.

"Victor is gone."

"Yes."

"Are you sad?"

"I do not know. I thought I would be. I thought I would feel something. Relief. Grief. Anger. But I feel nothing."

"That will come later."

"Maybe. Maybe not."

He pulled me close. Held me.

"I am here," he said.

"I know."

"I am not going anywhere."

"I know."

We stood in the garden. The roses watched us. The sun rose higher. The world kept turning.

Lin found us an hour later.

She was holding a tablet. Her face was pale.

"You need to see this."

"What is it?"

"The autopsy report. Victor's autopsy."

"He died of a gunshot wound. Rex shot him. We know that."

Lin shook her head. "That is not what killed him."

"What?"

She handed me the tablet.

I read the report.

Cause of death: heart failure. Due to poisoning. Chronic. Long-term. The gunshot wound was superficial. It did not hit any major organs. Victor would have survived if his heart had not given out.

"Poison," I said. "Someone was poisoning him."

"For years," Lin said. "The same poison that was used on your mother. The same poison that killed Dante."

My mother walked out of the house. Saw our faces.

"What is it?"

I handed her the tablet.

She read the report. Her face went white.

"Someone has been poisoning Victor for years," she said. "The same way someone poisoned me. The same way someone killed Dante."

"The same someone?"

"There is only one person who had access to all three of them."

"Who?"

My mother looked at me. Her eyes were wide.

"Mrs. Park."

Mrs. Park was in the kitchen.

She stood at the stove. Making coffee. Her back was to us. She did not turn around when we walked in.

"Mrs. Park," I said.

"Yes?"

"Victor is dead."

"I know. I heard."

"He was poisoned."

Mrs. Park turned. Her face was calm.

"I know."

"You knew?"

"I have known for years. I am the one who was poisoning him."

The room went silent.

"Why?" I asked.

Mrs. Park set down the coffee pot. Wiped her hands on her apron.

"Because he was going to kill your mother. He had been planning it for years. The same way he planned to kill Dante. The same way he planned to kill me."

"You were protecting my mother?"

"I was protecting myself. Your mother saved my daughter's life. I owed her. Victor was going to kill her. So I killed him first."

"Slowly."

"Slowly. Painfully. The way he killed Dante. The way he tried to kill your mother."

My mother stepped forward.

"You should have told me."

"You would have tried to stop me."

"Maybe. Maybe not."

Mrs. Park looked at her. "I did what I had to do. I do not expect forgiveness. I do not expect understanding. I just expect you to let me finish."

"Finish what?"

Mrs. Park reached into her apron. Pulled out a small vial. Clear liquid. No label.

"The last dose," she said. "I was going to give it to him today. But he died before I could."

"You were going to kill him?"

"I was going to finish what I started."

Rex stepped forward.

"Give me the vial."

Mrs. Park handed it over.

"Is this the same poison you used on Victor?"

"Yes."

"The same poison that was used on Dante?"

"Yes."

"The same poison that was used on Mira's mother?"

"Yes."

Rex held up the vial. Looked at it in the light.

"Where did you get it?"

"I made it. In my room. With ingredients from the garden."

"The roses?"

"The roses are poisonous. Red and white. Love and death. I have been cultivating them for years."

My mother sat down. Her legs would not hold her.

"You poisoned Victor. In this house. While I was living here."

"Yes."

"While I was sleeping down the hall."

"Yes."

"While I was eating your food. Drinking your coffee. Trusting you."

"Yes."

My mother looked at Mrs. Park. Her eyes were wet.

"You are a monster."

"I am a mother. I did what I had to do to protect my daughter."

"You killed people."

"People who were going to kill me. Kill you. Kill your daughter. I do not regret it."

"You should."

"I do not."

I walked to Mrs. Park. Stood in front of her.

"You killed Dante."

"Yes."

"You poisoned Victor."

"Yes."

"You tried to kill my mother."

"No. I saved your mother. Victor was going to kill her. I stopped him."

"By poisoning him slowly. Over years."

"However long it took."

"You are a murderer."

Mrs. Park looked at me. Her eyes were calm.

"Yes. I am. So are you. So is Rex. So is your mother. We are all murderers, Mira. The only difference is why we kill."

"I kill to protect."

"So do I."

"You kill for revenge."

"That too."

I looked at her. At the woman who had been in this house for twenty years. Who had watched me grow up. Who had made me breakfast. Who had held my hand when I was scared.

"I should turn you in," I said.

"You will not."

"Why not?"

"Because you need me."

"For what?"

Mrs. Park smiled. It was a sad smile.

"To find Drake. To find the files. To finish this."

"I do not need you."

"You do. You just do not know it yet."

Rex stepped between us.

"Enough. Both of you."

He turned to Mrs. Park.

"You are going to stay in your room. You are not going to leave. You are not going to talk to anyone. You are not going to make any more poison."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then I will kill you. Right here. Right now."

Mrs. Park looked at him. Then at me. Then at my mother.

"I will stay in my room," she said. "For now."

She walked out of the kitchen.

The door closed behind her.

My mother put her head in her hands.

"I trusted her," she said. "I trusted her with my life. With your life. With everything."

"She was protecting her daughter."

"That does not make it right."

"No. But it makes it human."

Rex sat down across from my mother. Took her hand.

"Mrs. Park is not the enemy. She is a soldier. A pawn. Someone else is pulling the strings."

"Drake?"

"Maybe. Maybe someone else."

"Who?"

"I do not know yet. But I am going to find out."

My phone buzzed.

Lin.

I found something. In the autopsy report. Something you missed.

What?

Victor was not Victor.

What do you mean?

The DNA. It does not match the samples from the house. The hair. The skin. The blood. The man who died in that hospital bed was not Victor Thorne.

I read the message again. Then again.

Then who was it?

I do not know. But someone switched the bodies. Someone wanted us to think Victor was dead. Again.

I showed the message to Rex.

His face went pale.

"Victor is alive."

"Again."

"He has been playing us. The whole time. The warehouse. The shooting. The hospital. All of it. A performance."

"But why?"

"Because he wanted us to think he was dead. So we would stop looking for him. So he could disappear. Again."

"Where would he go?"

"I do not know. But we need to find him. Before he finds us."

My mother stood up.

"I know where he is."

"Where?"

"Drake's father had a cabin. In the mountains. Victor used to go there. To get away. To think. To hide."

"Did you ever go with him?"

"Once. A long time ago. Before you were born."

"Can you find it again?"

"I think so."

"Then we go. Now."

"Mira..."

"No. No more waiting. No more hiding. No more games. We go. We find him. We end this."

Rex nodded. "I will get the car."

My mother walked to the door. Paused.

"Mrs. Park," she said. "What do we do with her?"

"She stays here. With Lin. With the guards. She cannot hurt anyone else."

"And when we come back?"

"We decide then."

My mother nodded. Walked out.

I stood alone in the kitchen.

The coffee was cold. The sun was high. The roses were blooming.

Somewhere in the mountains, Victor was waiting.

And I was going to find him.