Daniel hesitated, then pushed Lucas toward the small park behind the café. Maya knelt, gently rolled up Lucas’s pant leg, and began pressing and stretching his muscles with slow, deliberate movements.
“This is ridiculous,” Daniel muttered.
But Lucas frowned. “Dad… it feels weird. But good.”
Maya nodded. “He needs deep muscle work. His nerves aren’t dead—his muscles are shutting down. And the medicine he’s taking is making it worse.”
Daniel stiffened. “What medicine?”
“The pills your wife gives him. The ones that make him cold and sleepy,” Maya said evenly. “They slow the blood. I’ve seen it before.”
Daniel’s chest tightened. Olivia, his new wife, had insisted those pills were essential. Her private physician prescribed them, and Daniel never questioned it.
“You shouldn’t accuse people without proof,” he snapped.
“Then get proof,” Maya replied calmly. “Test them.”
Daniel was ready to dismiss her when Lucas suddenly gasped. “Dad—I can feel her hands.”
Tears filled Daniel’s eyes as Lucas smiled for the first time in years.
“Stop the pills, Mr. Moore,” Maya said quietly. “They’re destroying what strength he has left.”
Daniel swallowed. “How do you know?”