Chapter 2 - The Secret MedicineEthan did not ask Lily another question in the hallway.
Claire could appear at any moment.
Instead, he smiled as though his daughter had admitted stealing cookies.
“Okay,” he said quietly. “Come help me with something.”
Lily followed him into the library.
Ethan locked the door.
“Is this a secret mission?” she asked.
“Sort of.”
Her eyes brightened.
That hurt.
His daughter thought they were playing.
Ethan sat beside her on the leather couch.
“I need you to tell me about those drops.”
Lily's smile faded.
“Am I in trouble?”
“No.”
“Claire said—”
“I don't care what Claire said. You are not in trouble.”
Lily looked at her rabbit.
“She said I get too hyper sometimes.”
Ethan forced himself not to react.
“She told you that?”
“She said my body needs help calming down.”
“When does she give them to you?”
“Sometimes before bed. Sometimes when you go to work.”
“How long?”
Lily shrugged.
“A while.”
Weeks?
Months?
Ethan swallowed.
“What does the bottle look like?”
“Little. Brown. With a white top.”
“Does it have writing?”
“I don't know.”
“Where does she keep it?”
Lily pointed upward.
“Her bathroom.”
Ethan almost stood.
He stopped himself.
Claire was downstairs.
If the bottle disappeared tonight, Claire would know immediately that something had changed.
“You did exactly the right thing telling me.”
“Are you mad at her?”
The answer wanted to tear itself out of him.
Instead he said, “I'm trying to understand.”
Lily studied him with the unnerving directness children sometimes possessed.
“Your face is mad.”
“That's because I'm your dad.”
“That doesn't make sense.”
“It will someday.”
She accepted that.
“Can I sleep in your room?”
“Yes.”
“What about Claire?”
“I'll handle Claire.”
He carried Lily upstairs.
Claire was waiting near the bedroom.
“Everything okay?”
“Nightmare.”
Lily stared at Ethan.
Claire noticed.
“What kind?”
“Giant spiders,” Ethan said.
Lily caught on immediately.
“Really giant.”
Claire smiled.
“Terrifying.”
Ethan expected resistance when he said Lily would sleep beside him, but Claire only kissed Lily's forehead.
The tenderness appeared genuine.
That was the most disturbing part.
At 6:15 the following morning, Ethan woke before Claire.
He texted his assistant that he was canceling his first two meetings.
Then he called Lily's pediatrician from the bathroom.
He did not mention poison.
He mentioned unexplained medication.
Dr. Maya Patel stopped him halfway through the explanation.
“Bring her in.”
“How quickly?”
“Now.”
Claire was making coffee when Ethan entered the kitchen with Lily.
“Where are you two going?”
“Breakfast.”
Claire blinked.
“Without me?”
“Daddy-daughter morning.”
Lily looked nervous.
Ethan squeezed her hand.
Claire glanced toward the clock.
“You hate breakfast before eight.”
“I contain multitudes.”
She laughed, but her gaze remained on Lily.
“Have fun.”
Ten minutes later they were in Ethan's car.
Lily stared through the window.
“Are we going to breakfast?”
“After the doctor.”
She looked at him sharply.
“You said I wasn't in trouble.”
“You aren't.”
“Then why the doctor?”
“Because if someone gives you medicine, I need to know it's safe.”
“Claire said it was vitamins.”
“Maybe it is.”
The lie tasted bitter.
Dr. Patel examined Lily personally.
Blood pressure.
Reflexes.
Heart rhythm.
Blood samples.
Urine sample.
When she asked Lily about the mysterious drops, Ethan stayed silent and allowed his daughter to answer.
Dr. Patel's expression became increasingly serious.
“Do you have the bottle?”
“No,” Ethan said.
“Can you get it?”
“Yes.”
“Don't confront anyone yet.”
Ethan looked at her.
She lowered her voice.
“If you're right, whoever is administering this may remove evidence.”
“You think I'm right?”
“I think a child receiving an undisclosed substance is enough to concern me.”
“What can you test for?”
“A standard toxicology panel will catch common substances. Anything unusual gets more complicated.”
“How complicated?”
“We may need a specialized lab.”
Ethan looked through the examination-room window.
Lily was drawing a picture of a horse.
“How long?”
“I'll mark it urgent.”
“I need faster than urgent.”
“Ethan.”
He looked at her.
“You're scared,” Dr. Patel said. “I understand. But right now Lily is stable.”
“And if Claire gives her another dose?”
“Then don't let Claire give her anything.”
That part was simple.
The rest wasn't.
Ethan took Lily to breakfast afterward.
He watched her drown pancakes in syrup.
For twenty minutes she seemed like any other nine-year-old.
Then she said, “Are you still marrying Claire?”
His fork stopped.
“Why would you ask that?”
Lily shrugged.
“You're acting weird.”
“I've been accused of that before.”
“No. Weird-weird.”
Ethan put his fork down.
“Do you like Claire?”
“Sometimes.”
“Sometimes?”
“She can be nice.”
“And other times?”
Lily picked at a strawberry.
“She gets mad when I ask about my mom.”
Ethan's throat tightened.
Lily's mother, Rachel, had died from a cerebral aneurysm when Lily was four.
Claire had always appeared respectful of Rachel's memory.
“What does Claire say?”
“That dead people can't come back and I shouldn't make you sad by talking about her.”
Ethan stared at his daughter.
He had never heard that.
“Lily, you can talk about Mom whenever you want.”
Her lower lip trembled.
“Even at the wedding?”
“Especially at the wedding.”
She nodded.
His phone rang.
Dr. Patel.
Too soon.
Ethan answered immediately.
“Doctor?”
Her voice had changed.
“I got the rapid screen.”
Ethan stood.
Lily looked up.
“What did you find?”
“Something abnormal. It's not one of the drugs we normally test for, but there's a marker I don't like.”
“What marker?”
“I've sent the sample to the state toxicology lab.”
Ethan walked away from the table.
“Tell me what you're thinking.”
“I don't want to guess.”
“Please.”
Dr. Patel hesitated.
“Has Lily ever been exposed to anything connected to Mercer Therapeutics research facilities?”
“No.”
“Old laboratories? Archived compounds? Industrial sites?”
Ethan looked through the restaurant window.
His father's company had owned dozens.
“Why?”
“Because whatever this is, the preliminary signature resembles a compound I've only seen referenced once.”
“Where?”
“In an old occupational-medicine paper.”
Ethan's grip tightened on the phone.
“What company?”
May you like
Dr. Patel was silent for one beat too long.
“Yours.”
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