Chapter 7 - Fractured Trust
Julian held the document under the amber light of the emergency bulb, his vision swimming. The signature was unmistakable: the same sharp, stylized R that Dr. Rao had just used on Clara’s surgical consent forms. Beneath it lay a court authorization date from twenty-two years ago, naming Dr. Rao not as an attending physician, but as a legal guardian under a sealed state conservatorship.
"You weren't supposed to find that, Julian."
Julian spun around, slamming the locker door shut. Dr. Rao stood at the end of the aisle, holding a pocket flashlight that cast harsh, dancing shadows across the steel shelves. The doctor had changed out of his bloodied scrubs into an ordinary gray sweater, looking smaller, older, and deeply exhausted.
"You lied to me," Julian growled, clutching the papers like a weapon. "You stood by her bed, acting like a stranger, while she was dying!"
"I took an oath to protect her, Julian," Rao said softly, not advancing, his hands raised in a placating gesture. "Not just as a doctor. When Clara's parents were murdered in the harbor district, the people responsible didn't stop looking. They wanted the research her father embedded in her. I was the only one who could alter her records and give her a normal life."
"And now? That woman in the hallway—who is she?"
May you like
Rao’s expression darkened with dread. "That’s her sister, Julian. And she didn't come here to save Clara. She came because your daughter is the carrier."
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