Four hours later, the library was littered with journals and Bibles, and the ashtray overflowed with a habit Addison had once quit, but now craved. The decanter was almost empty and the room smelled of stale smoke and old books, but she didn’t notice. She must have read his pages a hundred times, over and over and over again trying to find some hint of insanity in his writing, but there was none. His words were precise. His thoughts were clear, and his findings could not be argued...and Addison had never been so scared.

Why hadn’t he told her? Why hadn’t he told his son? How could someone allow others to die?

Chapter Forty-One

“I thought you quit.”

Addison flinched at the sound of Joanna’s voice, and keeping her head bowed, she quietly said, “I did.” Fixated on the overflowing ashtray on the table in front of her, it took Addison well over a minute before she raised her eyes. “Joanna...we need to talk.”

The hair stood up on the back of Joanna’s neck. Addison’s voice was flat and void of even the slightest inflection, and she was still dressed in the suit she had worn the day before. The room reeked of smoke, and journals and Bibles once aligned neatly on the shelves were now scattered about the library. Some were on the floor, fanned open to pages of interest, while others had somehow managed to find the four corners of the room.

“Okay, but if it’s about cleaning up this room, that’s on you,” Joanna said, attempting a grin.

It took all the strength Addison had to look Joanna in the eye, but taking a deep breath, she did just that. “Tomorrow you need…you need to call the doctor and…and make arrangements to terminate the pregnancy.”

Joanna jerked back her head, and taking a step into the room, she said, “What did you just say?”

“You have to lose the baby. If you don’t, you’ll die.”

Noticing the empty decanter on the table, Joanna picked it up. “Are you pissed?”

“No. Tired, but not drunk.”

“Well, then go get some sleep because you’re obviously not thinking straight.”

“Yes, I am,” Addison said, getting to her feet. “I know exactly what I’m saying and why I’m saying it. You need to call the doctor and—”

“I will do no such thing!” Joanna said as she strode over and stood in front of Addison. “I don’t know what this is all about—”

“It’s about these,” Addison said as she snatched up some papers from the table. “It’s about the fact that no wife of a Kane has ever survived childbirth. They all died, Joanna. My mother, my grandmother, my great-grandmother—”

“You’re here.”