Chapter 6 - THE ILLNESS THAT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO EXIST
Toby had been sick since he was two.
That's what every doctor told me.
Rare blood disorder.
Unpredictable progression.
No known cause.
Manage symptoms.
Keep transfusing.
Keep paying.
Keep hoping.
Now Elena Vargas was saying Toby and Lily had acquired the condition.
Not inherited it.
I wanted to scream.
Instead, I asked:
"How does she know?"
Damien answered:
"Because she worked on the trial."
My knees weakened.
"What trial?"
"Helix Meridian's pediatric blood stabilizer."
The same medication Toby had received.
My brain rejected the timeline.
"Toby didn't start Helix products until after he was diagnosed."
"According to Elena, the original formulation was distributed under another company."
I closed my eyes.
Of course.
Another name.
Another shell.
Another layer.
Damien continued:
"She says contaminated donor material may have caused long-term marrow damage in a small group of children."
My throat closed.
"And Helix knew?"
"She believes so."
I sat down.
Toby was upstairs receiving another transfusion because a company might have hidden what made him sick.
Then something worse occurred to me.
"How was Toby exposed?"
Damien was silent.
"Damien."
"Elena says some infants received the product during emergency neonatal treatment."
I stopped breathing.
Toby had been premature.
Thirty-two weeks.
He spent seventeen days in the NICU.
I remembered signing forms I barely understood.
Blood products.
Immune support.
Anything to keep my baby alive.
My hands began shaking.
"They did this when he was born."
"We don't know yet."
Good.
He didn't claim certainty.
I clung to that.
Elena agreed to speak with independent investigators.
So did Damien.
The hospital preserved Toby's records.
Outside specialists reviewed them.
And for the first time, I learned that his neonatal chart listed a product called HMX-4.
A precursor to Helix Meridian's later therapy.
My heart broke.
Toby had been exposed before he could even open his eyes properly.
Then came another shock.
Lily had also been premature.
Also given HMX-4.
Different hospital.
Same batch family.
Elena had discovered the pattern.
That's why she disappeared.
She had been trying to protect her daughter and gather proof.
Michael helped her escape.
Then he went after the original trial records.
Into Kesler.
And never returned.
I sat beside Toby that evening.
He was drawing.
"Mom?"
"Yeah?"
"Am I going to die?"
The question destroyed me.
I held his hand.
"I don't know everything yet."
He looked scared.
"But we're going to keep getting you the best care we can."
"That's not what I asked."
Seven years old.
Too smart.
I swallowed.
"Your doctors think there are treatments we can try."
That was true.
"Are you scared?"
"Yes."
He nodded.
"Me too."
I leaned forward.
"Then we can be scared together."
He smiled faintly.
"Okay."
A nurse entered.
Not his usual nurse.
An older woman.
She looked at Toby.
Then at me.
"Laura Miller?"
"Yes."
She closed the door.
"My name is Theresa Cole."
I frowned.
"And?"
She took a breath.
"I worked at Kesler nine years ago."
My heart stopped.
She placed an envelope on the table.
"Michael Rourke gave me this the night he disappeared."
I stared.
"Why now?"
Her eyes filled.
"Because I saw Toby's name in the hospital inquiry."
My hands trembled.
"What is it?"
May you like
She whispered:
"A list of every child exposed to HMX-4 before Helix buried the trial."
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