The morning sun filtered through the glass walls of the conservatory, but Alicia was already gone. She had a different destination in mind. When Arthur woke up and saw the small brass key on the nightstand—the one he had given her—he smiled. She hadn't left it behind because she rejected it; she had left a note beside it: "Gone to share the news with Léo. See you at the office."
At the hospital, the atmosphere in the pediatric ward was unusually bright. Alicia hurried toward Léo's room, her heart pounding. Dr. Sterling, the specialist Arthur had flown in from Switzerland, was already there, looking over a series of digital charts.
"Alicia! You're just in time," the doctor said, his voice carrying a professional but warm tone.
"Is it... is it good news?" Alicia asked, her voice trembling.
Dr. Sterling smiled. "The preliminary results from the new targeted therapy—the one the Everglow Foundation is sponsoring—are remarkable. Léo's blast cells are decreasing faster than we anticipated. He's not out of the woods yet, but for the first time, we can discuss a potential date for a bone marrow transplant."
Alicia felt her knees go weak. She sank into a plastic chair, tears of pure relief flooding her eyes. "Oh, thank God. Thank you, doctor."
Léo, propped up on his pillows and looking slightly less pale, beamed at her. "See, Ali? I told you the superhero was real. He sent the magic medicine."
Alicia walked to the glass and pressed her palm against it. "He is real, Léo. And he's doing everything he can."
But as she left the hospital later that morning, her phone buzzed. It was an unknown number. Usually, she would ignore it, but something made her answer.
"Miss Mendes?" A raspy, elderly voice came through. "I saw you on the news with that Carter boy. At the gala."
"Who is this?" Alicia asked, stepping into a quiet corner of the parking lot.
"I worked at the airport hangar ten years ago. On the night your parents' plane went down," the voice whispered. "They said it was an engine failure. But I saw someone near the fuel lines that night. Someone wearing a Carter Corp security badge."
The world seemed to tilt. Alicia's breath hitched. "What are you talking about? That's impossible."
"I have the old maintenance logs, Miss Mendes. Meet me at the docks at midnight if you want the truth. Come alone."
The line went dead. Alicia stared at her phone, her mind a whirlwind of confusion. Was it possible? Was her love for Arthur built on the ashes of a crime committed by his own family?