Chapter 41
The Signature in Public
Daniel walked toward the cameras.
The county attorney tried to stop him. “You are not authorized to speak.”
“I signed the settlement,” he said.
The reporters turned.
“Investigator Vale, are you confirming a sealed county agreement?”
“I am confirming that Bellwether Clinic treated patients under altered identities.”
Owen Bell reached him before the next question.
“Daniel is suffering from exhaustion and grief.”
“I am not.”
“He has been under pressure.”
“I signed three times.”
The reporters surged forward.
Claire watched from the school doorway. The public record had become a physical fight over who could speak without being labeled unstable.
Daniel continued.
“The county sealed records connected to a child named Rowan Vale. The child was not dead. The county accepted money from Bellwether's owners to keep the file closed.”
Owen's face hardened.
“That is a criminal allegation.”
“It is a statement of fact.”
The county attorney took his arm. “Stop talking.”
Daniel pulled free.
“My wife, Elise Vale, entered Bellwether Clinic after a stroke. She was told treatment would restore language. It changed her memories. It erased our daughter from her responses.”
A reporter asked, “Where is Rowan now?”
Daniel looked toward the school.
“Alive.”
The word carried over the crowd.
Inside, the copy leaned against the wall, breathing hard. Claire saw a faint line of blood beneath her nose.
“What is happening to you?”
“The system is losing the original.”
“You mean Rowan.”
“I mean me.”
The copy looked toward the cameras.
“When the public accepts Rowan's identity, this body will no longer have a purpose.”
“You are not a body with a purpose.”
“That is not what they taught me.”
The school lights flickered.
On the gym wall, the word WITNESS changed to DISCONTINUED.
The copy collapsed.