“Elena was the one who found the medical records,” Nora said, looking down at Elena.

Elena covered her face with her hands, her shoulders shaking violently as she wept.

“She found them in the library, in the old safe,” Nora continued.

“She was going to bring them to you.”

“But Caleb caught her,” I guessed, the pieces beginning to fall into place.

Nora nodded, her fingers tightening slightly on Elena’s shoulder.

“He threatened her family, Adrian,” Nora said.

“Her sister in Colombia, her nieces.”

“He told her that if she ever spoke a word about the child, they would disappear.”

I looked at Caleb, whose face remained a mask of arrogant indifference.

“A simple business transaction,” Caleb muttered, his voice muffled by Marcus’s forearm.

“Everyone has a price, Adrian.”

“Some people just pay in silence.”

“Shut up,” Marcus growled, jerking Caleb’s head back.

I stepped closer to Caleb, my boots stopping inches from his.

The red light of the timer cast long, distorted shadows across his bruised face.

03:18.

“You spent seventeen years at my side,” I said, my voice dropping to a whisper.