“I like you,” Aaron whispered.
Rebecca’s chest ached. “I like you too.”
That night, she researched glutaraldehyde exposure. Every symptom matched. Fatigue. Weight loss. Brain fog. Seizures. She knew she could not stay silent.
When Lucas returned home, Daniel admitted the hospital still had no answers. Rebecca told him everything. The chemical. The research. The bottles in the basement. The need for toxicology screening and fresh air relocation.
Daniel listened, disbelief wrestling with desperate hope. At last, he agreed to order the test. Dr. Collins objected, insulted, dismissive, but Daniel overruled him.
Days later, the results arrived. Elevated exposure markers. Lucas had higher levels than Aaron.
The truth landed heavy in the kitchen. Daniel fired Dr. Collins that same day. Mrs. Hargrove confessed she had chosen the cleaning products years earlier, believing stronger meant safer. Rebecca assured her that guilt would not fix anything, only change would.