His gaze drifted past Bella, toward the mountains stretching across the horizon. He remembered the sound of snapping bones and roaring wind. He remembered the climbing harness failing because the safety check had been rushed. He remembered his business partner, Jonathan Pierce, falling. The man had not survived. Rafael had paid the widow a fortune, but no currency could bury the memory.
He swallowed hard. “If you are lying to me, the consequences will be severe. If you are not, then everything in my life will change.”
Bella nodded. “Then you have already made the choice.”
At dawn the next morning, inside a sterile therapy room, medical monitors beeped to life. Dr. Helen Strauss, the most skeptical neurologist in the center, adjusted her glasses.
“This is unauthorized,” she said. “If anything happens, my license is on the line.”
Rafael responded, “So is my future.”
Teresa held Bella’s hand. “We can stop now.”
Bella stepped away. “I am ready.”
Rafael watched as she approached him. She placed her palms gently at the base of his spine, fingers tracing invisible pathways. The room felt impossibly still. Even the machines seemed to pause between beeps.