Page 66 of Christmas Coffee

Quin is sitting next to me on Perky’s desk and dips his head to look at the item on the screen. “What’s europhen?”

“It’s diisobutyl ortho cresol iodide, and it’s an archaic antiseptic. It’s a substitute for iodoform, which no one has used for much in the past seventy years, so what the hell is it doing in here?”

“Why do you know science shit?” Quin asks, while he crunches up a candy cane in his mouth.

“I worked in a lab every day for years. You learn things.”

“You mean you’d learn things. Your brain is a fucking sponge. You never forget anything.”

“True.” And it’s a good thing too. I flip through the pages with the cancer drug formula to look for CHI3, and find it. There’s no way that was in the formula. I pull out my phone and Google the drug index for 429 and swear. It takes everything I have to keep myself in check and not smash my fist through the computer. This is it. This is what Uncle Aldrich was hiding. He’s the one responsible for this, for all of it.

Quin is on his feet, looking at the phone in my hand. “I don’t get it? What’d he do?”

After I inhale sharply and rub my palms over my face, I look up at him. “Uncle altered the formula on the patent application. This shouldn’t be there. Iodoform is lethal in large doses. It’s why people got sick when they took the RequimX. It’s why the drug was recalled. It’s why it didn’t fucking work—he changed the paperwork and no one saw it.”

“How is that possible?” Quin is there, staring at the patent papers and then he takes my phone. “Shit, this stuff killed people. Are you saying he knew? That it was done on purpose?”

I nod, still staring at the screen. “That’s why I was ushered out of the pharmaceutical division so quickly, he was covering his tracks.”

“Why?” Quin is shaking his head. I feel his gaze on the side of my face. “Why the fuck lose close to a billion bucks and nearly bankrupt the company?”

“He wanted it for himself and this was the best way to push me out. It made me look incompetent and when it came time to take my place at the company, he had an ironclad reason to deny me. He made sure that I made a mistake that I couldn’t recover from, not just by losing money, but by showing the public and the board that I couldn’t be trusted.” It’s exactly what Nova said to me before she threw me out. The public’s perception of me tainted by something that I didn’t do.

“Shit, man. That’s twisted.” When I don’t respond, Quin asks, “Why keep this around at all?” He points at the thumb drive.

“Because it’s the patent and it’s a tax write-off. That’s why he was talking to the accountant and flipping out. The thumb drive went missing. It was misfiled.”

Quin smiles slowly. “And we found it, so now what?”

I close the window, shut off the computer, and pocket the drive. “I need to talk to the lead chemist, Dr. Snow and confirm my thoughts. Then we expose him.”

“Celyn, if you do that, you’ll destroy Bardenbey.” Quin pauses, candy cane midway to his mouth. “You won’t have any company to take over by the time the suits and papers are through with you.”

“I don’t care. This was wrong and he did it.” I’m out of my chair and walking down the hallway to the elevator bank when Quin stops me. I have Snow’s number on my phone.

“I know, but think it through. Celyn, you’ll lose everything. This could backfire and your uncle could blame you, say you did it.”

I shake my head. “The last person to touch the patent papers and send the final formula to manufacturing was Uncle. That’s why no one saw it. Snow was ruined because of that incident and so was I. Snow has a right to know it wasn’t his fault.”

“And if you destroy yourself in the process?”

“Then so be it.”

* * *

The next morning,Dr. Snow confirms my thoughts and echoes my outrage. This wasn’t carelessness, it was sabotage. Uncle bypassed the safety checks in place and oversaw the initial distribution of the drug himself. He’s to blame for it, for all of it. By the time I’m done exposing him, there’ll be nothing left of the legacy my father created. That’s the only thing that makes me hesitate, but if I don’t act now and strike when he least expects it—I’ll lose my shot.

My mind keeps drifting back to Nova. I’ve tried to call her, but she won’t answer. I want to apologize, but I don’t deserve her forgiveness. I never deserved her in the first place, and now I’ve caused her pain that I can’t take away. I assumed she was running from demons that were in the present. I had no idea the threat lay dormant in her past. I woke the dead and made her relive the entire thing again, bearing it to the one person she tried so hard to protect. I’m a shit. She should do more than spit on me if she ever sees me again.

I’m dressing quickly and ready to fix this mess. It’s Christmas morning and while other people are opening presents, I’m handing over my last living relative on a platter to the New York City police department. I spoke to the detective last night and we agreed to meet at Bardenbey this morning. I know damn well that Uncle will try and take me down with him, and I’ve accepted that fate. It’s worth the risk.

When I get to Bardenbey, the halls are empty save for a few top executives hurrying to do some last second work before rushing out for the day. I meet Detective Tatch, a tall tank of a man in his late forties. “I’m sorry to call you out on Christmas.”

Tatch looks over at me, the olive skin on his face slack with age. His hardened eyes reveal nothing. If he didn’t speak, I’d have no idea what he was thinking. “It takes guts to do what you’re about to do. Waiting will make it worse. If you’re ready, let’s get it over with.”

I stop before Uncle’s large office doors and look at the cop. “Let’s go.” I shove inside, and walk straight up to my uncle and drop it on him like a bomb.