Chapter 141

JASONI had spent years remaining calm in operating theatres, making life-and-death decisions with steady hands and a clear mind, but nothing had prepared me for waking in the middle of the night to Karen quietly telling me the babies were coming. I opened my eyes and found her sitting beside me, one hand resting over her stomach and the other holding her phone, while her face carried a strange mixture of pain, fear, and determination. The moment I saw the timing app on her screen and realized the contractions were already close together, every part of me switched into action. I was no longer the doctor who could calmly handle an emergency; I was simply a husband whose wife was about to bring our daughters into the world.“The babies are coming,” she whispered.I jumped out of bed so quickly that I nearly tripped over my shoes. Within minutes, the entire house was awake and moving, and somehow Sophie got dressed faster than I had ever seen her move before. She did not complain about h

Chapter 142

RICHARDI woke before sunrise, just as I had almost every morning since moving to Edinburgh. The city outside my apartment was still quiet, covered in the cool grey light that came before the streets filled with people, and for a few minutes I simply stood by the kitchen window and watched the empty road below. I was halfway through making coffee when my phone vibrated on the counter, and I reached for it, expecting another work message from Michael. Instead, I saw Karen's name on the screen, and my heart gave a small jump because I knew she would not be messaging me at that hour unless something important had happened.There were no long explanations or emotional words, only two names, two birth times, and a photograph taken only minutes after the girls arrived. I stared at the screen without moving, reading the names again and again until they slowly settled inside me. Hope and Grace. I whispered them under my breath, and somehow they felt exactly right, as if the names had been w

Chapter 143

JASONMonths later, I was sitting behind my desk, finishing the notes from my last patient before reaching for the next file when my phone vibrated. The moment I saw the unfamiliar Boston number on the screen, every muscle in my body tightened before I could stop it, because old habits were difficult to forget after everything Karen and I had survived. I picked up the phone slowly, staring at the number for a few seconds while an uncomfortable feeling settled inside my chest. I had promised myself that those days were behind us, that the people who had tried to destroy our lives were either behind bars or facing the consequences of what they had done, and that our family could finally enjoy the ordinary life we had fought so hard to build.I opened the message.“I think you should know something about your wife's company. Something that hasn't come out yet. I was there from the beginning. Meet me.”I read it twice, then a third time, hoping the words would somehow look less disturbing

Chapter 144

KARENI ended the call with Jason and stared at my phone for a few seconds, unable to shake the feeling that the message had opened a door we had spent months trying to close. I immediately called Gerald, and the moment he answered, I read the anonymous message exactly as it had appeared on Jason's phone. I did not change a single word because I knew from experience that one small detail could become the difference between finding the truth and missing it. When I finished reading, I waited for his response, but the silence on the other end lasted so long that I briefly wondered if the call had dropped.“Gerald?”“I’m here.”“You're quiet.”“Read the message again.”I frowned.“Why?”“Just read it again, Karen.”I slowly repeated every word, paying closer attention this time. When I reached the sentence about being there from the beginning, Gerald interrupted me before I could continue, and something in his voice immediately made my stomach tighten. He sounded different, as though his

Chapter 145

KARENI arrived at the café almost thirty minutes before the agreed time, but I did not mind waiting because being early gave me time to think and, more importantly, time to watch the entrance. I chose a table in the back corner where I could see everyone who walked through the door, then placed my phone beside my coffee and tried not to stare at the clock. Gerald arrived a few minutes later, looked around once, and walked straight toward me without asking why I had invited him here. He knew me well enough to understand that after everything we had survived, I would never meet someone connected to the beginning of A.A. Biotech alone.“You did the right thing calling me,” Gerald said as he sat down.“I hope so.”“So do I.”We ordered coffee, but neither of us touched it, because our attention remained fixed on the door. Every time it opened, I looked up automatically, and each time it was another customer, another waiter, or someone simply looking for a table. My mind kept returning to

Chapter 146

KARENI pushed open the front door just before dinner and stopped in the hallway, smiling as the familiar sounds of my family reached me from the kitchen. There was the sound of Jason moving dishes around, Sophie's frustrated voice rising every few seconds, and the happy little noises Hope and Grace made from their highchairs, as if the two of them were having a very serious conversation that nobody else was important enough to understand. I closed the door quietly behind me and stood there for a few seconds, simply watching the life I had somehow built around myself. There had been a time when silence meant loneliness, uncertainty, and fear, but now even the noise in this house felt like the sweetest kind of peace.Jason noticed me first.“Hey, beautiful.”I smiled.“Hey.”Sophie looked up from her workbook with an expression that made me laugh.“Mommy!”“Yes?”“You're finally home.”“I am.”“Good, because I need you.”Jason turned from the kitchen counter with a wounded expression.