Chapter 143: THE TRUTH HAS A PRICE
KEISHA’S POV
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Doctor Fenn.
Even after she was gone, I remained exactly where I was, staring at her lifeless body as though my mind refused to accept what had just happened. Only a few hours ago, Callum had received her phone call. She had sounded shaken, yes, but she had been alive. She had found something hidden inside the evidence we’d recovered, something important enough to summon us immediately instead of discussing it over the phone. We had raced here believing we were finally about to learn the truth behind everything that had happened.
Instead, we had arrived too late.
The warning on the wall lingered in the back of my mind.
STOP DIGGING... ELSE MANY OTHERS WILL FOLLOW.
It wasn’t for her, those were written for us.
The sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the corridor, pulling me from my thoughts. I turned just as Dane appeared in the doorway, breathing heavily, his shirt clinging to him with sweat. One look at the room was enough for the colour to drain from his face. His gaze shifted from Doctor Fenn to the blood-stained wall before settling on Callum, and the frustration in his expression was almost painful to look at.
"He disappeared," he said, still trying to steady his breathing. "I chased him all the way through the eastern woods, but it was like he knew the place better than I did. Every trail split into three more. By the time I reached the river, he was gone."
Callum didn’t answer immediately. He remained crouched beside Doctor Fenn for another moment before slowly rising to his feet. The disappointment on his face wasn’t directed at Dane. If anything, it was directed at himself. "We were minutes too late."
Dane clenched his jaw. "If I’d caught him—"
"Well, you didn’t," Callum interrupted quietly. "And standing here blaming yourself won’t change that."
The room fell silent again. None of us wanted to admit it, but we’d lost the only person who knew what those test results contained.
A soft, broken sound pulled my attention away from the men.
Nadia.
She had remained near the doorway ever since we’d found Doctor Fenn, but now her face had gone completely pale. She pressed a trembling hand over her mouth before turning abruptly and stumbling out into the corridor.
I hurried after her, wiping at my tears.. "Nadia..."
She barely made it outside before doubling over, retching violently into a flower bed beside the entrance. Her shoulders shook uncontrollably as she tried to catch her breath between waves of nausea. It wasn’t difficult to understand why. No matter how much loss our world had taught us to endure, nothing prepared someone for seeing a person they’d spoken to only days earlier lying in a pool of blood.
I crouched beside her, gently pulling her hair away from her face while she tried to recover. One of the nurses had left a small water basin nearby, and I quickly soaked a clean cloth before offering it to her.
"It’s alright," I murmured. "Take your time."
She accepted the cloth without looking at me. After rinsing her mouth, she stayed where she was for several long moments, breathing slowly until the trembling finally eased.
"Are you feeling any better?"
The question had barely left my lips before she straightened, wiped her face with the back of her hand and took a deliberate step away from me. "I’m fine." Her voice was hoarse. "Don’t talk to me, Keisha. Don’t."
Oh.
The words stung more than I expected.
Without another word, she turned away, leaving me standing alone in the courtyard.
Right.
"Take a seat." Callum was right behind me, his rough hands on my shoulder as he guided me to a chair. "Just sit here and we’ll take care of everything."
I wiped at my tears, fingers curling into the fabric at my stomach. "I just—"
He leaned down to my height, pressing a quick kiss to my cheeks, before stroking my skin with his thumb. "I’m so sorry you had to see that."
My body shook but I nodded stiffly. "You should go sort those stuff out."
His gaze was searching. "Are you okay?"
I looked at him for a minute. Then— "No."
Callum pulled me into a hug, fingers stroking my hair before he pressed a kiss to my head. "I’ll take care of it. Okay?"
Within the hour, the clinic had filled with guards. The building was sealed off while several physicians from neighbouring territories were summoned to confirm Doctor Fenn’s death and oversee the transfer of her body. Everyone who entered the laboratory fell silent the moment they saw the blood-stained wall. The warning had the intended effect.
Doctor Fenn was carried out with the respect she deserved.
As the stretcher disappeared through the front doors, Callum stood watching it until it was completely out of sight.
"She served this pack faithfully for years," he said at last, his voice carrying across the room. "She’ll be buried with every honour owed to her. Make the arrangements."
The guards bowed before leaving to carry out his instructions.
There was no time to mourn. If Doctor Fenn had died protecting the truth, then knowing that truth had become more important than ever.
For the next hour we searched every room in the clinic. Cabinets were emptied one after another, patient files were checked, storage shelves, drawers and medicine lockers were examined carefully in case the attackers had overlooked something in their haste. Whoever had searched this place before us had been thorough. Entire folders had disappeared, and several cupboards stood open with obvious gaps where documents had once been stored.
I moved carefully through the laboratory, avoiding the larger pieces of broken glass scattered across the floor while searching beneath one of the overturned cabinets. Just as I reached farther underneath, something sharp caught the side of my finger and a sudden sting shot through my hand.
"Oh fuck." I drew it back instinctively to see a thin line of blood welled across my fingertip.
Before I had the chance to react further, both Callum and Dane were beside me.
"You’ve cut yourself," Callum said immediately.
"It isn’t deep," I replied, looking down at the tiny wound.
Dane frowned as he picked a clean cloth from a nearby tray and handed it over. "You shouldn’t be digging through broken glass Keisha. I told you to go home, you don’t listen."
"I was only trying to see if anything had fallen underneath."
"And you found glass instead."
I wrapped the cloth around my finger, feeling faintly embarrassed by how quickly they’d noticed such a small injury. "It really isn’t serious."
"That isn’t the point," Callum answered as his gaze swept across the wrecked laboratory.. "This place has already claimed one life today. You’re not staying here any longer. And no, I’m not listening to your objections again."
I opened my mouth to argue, but the firmness in his expression made it obvious he wasn’t changing his mind.
"You’ll return to the annex." His tone softened only slightly. "We’ll continue searching. If we find anything, you’ll know."
A guard was called over before I could protest again.. "Escort Miss Keisha safely back to the annex."
Another guard received similar instructions regarding Nadia, who had remained outside ever since leaving the laboratory.
Reluctantly, I allowed myself to be led away.
I couldn’t remember a single thing we’d driven past.
Doctor Fenn’s final moments replayed endlessly inside my head and by the time I reached the annex, I felt completely drained.
The front door swung open before I had the chance to knock.
Lyra hurried outside, already dressed to leave, panic written plainly across her face. She froze the instant she saw me, relief washing over her so quickly that her shoulders visibly sagged. "There you are." She crossed the distance between us in seconds. "I’ve been looking everywhere for you."
"I know. I’m sorry for keeping you worried."
"I heard Dane had been taken back to the clinic yesterday, and when you never came home..." She stopped, searching my face anxiously. "Is he alright? And what are these rumours everyone’s talking about? They said someone at the clinic..."
Tears welled up in my eyes and my body shook with sobs. "Lyra—"
Lyra’s expression softened immediately and without asking another question, she stepped forward and wrapped both arms around me.
She gently rested one hand against the back of my head. "You don’t have to say anything," she whispered. "We’ll get through this."
Tears flower freely down my cheeks. But I let myself lean into her touch.
Because how could I explain to her that I was beyond scared?