~ 23 ~
PEYTON
Colson moved so fast it was impossible to follow him. I knew right then and there, things were bad. Ripley held my hand as we cut through the house, eventually spilling out into the living area.
Theo was sitting at the table, alone. Not hunched over his laptop, where he’d always been. Not punching keys and muttering to himself, as usual.
No, he sat with his elbows on the table, his head in his hands. It was his expression that bothered me more than anything else. He looked hollowed out. Empty.
Not to mention, white as a ghost.
My stomach dropped.
“Theo?”
He didn’t look at me right away. When he did, I saw his bloodshot eyes. They were red, tired, and unfocused.
“They got to him,” he muttered.
Ripley froze, his body stiffening. “Your father?”
He nodded, glumly. Colson swore, and shook his head.
“I didn’t use anything traceable,” Theo murmured. “I went through back channels. Old contacts, from an old, private forum. People who know me only though long-dead usernames.”
“Theo…”
“Trust me,” he growled, uncharacteristically. “I know what I’m doing. I went through a hundred VPN’s. I didn’t leave any fingerprints.”
“And?”
“Donovan must’ve gotten through to the medical board. They stopped my father’s experimental protocol. Effective immediately.”
Silence descended, like a heavy curtain, as they all looked at each other. I felt confused; like the only one not in on an inside joke.
“My father has metastatic cancer,” Theo explained, his eyes shifting to me. “Stage four. Inoperable.”
I covered my mouth with my hands. “Oh, Theo…”
“He’s been part of a radically new, highly-expensive treatment plan,” he went on. “Donovan got him into the clinical trial, almost a year ago now. He’s also paying for it, of course. There’s no way I could ever afford it.”
“And he stopped it?” I breathed. “Just like that?”
“Yes.”
Ripley spat. “What a bastard.”
“There’s more.”
With shaking hands, Theo reached out and turned the laptop so that it faced us. A single message filled the screen:
You have 72 hours to return what’s mine.
Or I stop being patient.
My chest tightened. I hadn’t felt this sick since I was standing at the altar.
“So Donovan knows where we are?” I asked fearfully.
