“Yes.”
Nico shifted in Liana’s arms.
The small movement seemed louder than any accusation.
Matteo asked, “What happened to Elena?”
Hargrove’s face changed again.
This time the fear was unmistakable.
“Bell administered a medication as part of a related maternal protocol.”
Matteo stopped moving.
“Without her consent?”
“Yes.”
“What medication?”
Hargrove gave the name.
Dr. Sloan, standing near the back of the room, inhaled sharply.
Matteo heard.
“What?”
She looked at him.
“In a patient with Elena’s clotting profile, that medication could have increased the risk of catastrophic bleeding.”
Matteo stared at Hargrove.
“My wife died because of your experiment.”
Hargrove shook his head quickly.
“We can’t say that definitively.”
Matteo stepped closer.
“You falsified the records.”
Hargrove’s silence answered.
“You changed the timeline.”
No response.
“You hid Bell’s presence.”
Hargrove looked down.
Matteo’s voice became almost a whisper.
“You buried the truth with my wife.”
Hargrove’s composure finally broke.
“We were trying to contain something that had already gone wrong.”
Liana’s eyes filled.
“And my baby?”
Hargrove looked at her.
“He had a severe immune reaction.”
“Because of what Bell did?”
Hargrove hesitated.
Liana’s voice rose.
“Because of what Bell did?”
“Yes.”
The word struck harder than anything she had prepared herself to hear.
She turned away, pressing her mouth against Nico’s soft hair.
Twenty-two days of blaming herself.
Twenty-two days replaying every decision.
Every cup of coffee.
Every form she signed.
Every moment she had trusted someone in a white coat.
And none of it had been because she had failed.
Her baby had been harmed by people who knew exactly what they were doing.
Liana began to cry silently.
Matteo looked at her.
Then at Hargrove.
