“No.”
It was the most honest answer I had.
Then I started shaking.
Not dramatically.
My teeth clicked.
My hands trembled.
For weeks, I had believed my body was failing.
Now I had to consider that someone I loved might have been helping it
fail.
The first laboratory answers did not arrive instantly.
Testing takes time.
Interpretation takes time.
Chain of custody matters.
Medical samples and the thermos contents were evaluated through
appropriate channels.
Dr. Reynolds refused to tell me a story before the evidence existed.
“I know you want certainty.”
She said.
“I can tell you what your body is doing. I cannot yet tell you why.”
That restraint made me trust her more.
I called Miriam Chen.
My attorney arrived that afternoon.
She was fifty-two, elegant, precise, and incapable of pretending
something was simple when it was not.
I told her about the management authorization.
She asked:
“Did you sign anything?”
