Chapter 12

The rain continued falling. For a few moments, they watched the lake in silence. Then Ethan asked the question that had followed him for two days:"Why did you tell me to be careful?"Maya's expression changed immediately: the playful confidence vanished. Now she looked serious, older somehow. She glanced toward the church, then back toward Ethan. Finally, she lowered her voice:"Because of her."Claire. The name didn't need to be spoken. Ethan felt his stomach tighten."What about her?"Maya hesitated. For the first time since meeting her, she seemed uncertain: not scared, just careful—like someone deciding how much truth another person was ready to hear.Before she could answer, thunder rumbled somewhere over the lake, the sound echoing across the water. Maya looked down at her shoes, then spoke quietly:"A few weeks ago, I saw her."Ethan remained silent."Outside church.""Doing what?"The little girl reached into her coat pocket slowly, carefully. When her hand emerged, she was holding a tiny plastic bag. Inside sat a single white pill.Ethan stared at it. The world seemed to narrow: the rain, the traffic, the lake—everything faded. Only the pill remained."I found this," his voice sounded distant. "Where?""Near the church parking lot." Maya swallowed. "She dropped it."Robert looked confused. "What does that prove?"Maya ignored him; her eyes remained on Ethan. "She didn't know I saw."Ethan couldn't stop staring at the pill. It looked ordinary, harmless, exactly like the pills Claire gave him every morning. His heartbeat quickened. A coincidence—it had to be. Millions of people took white pills. Millions.Still, his chest felt strangely tight. "What did you do with it?"Maya brightened slightly; the answer seemed important to her. "I showed Mr. Harold.""The man from the church?"She nodded. "He used to be a pharmacist."

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