Abby nodded to the butler and hobbled through the door he held open for her. After she’d returned to Nichols’s estate, she’d spent the afternoon in the conservatory, contemplating what she would say to the man who had violated her grandfather…and saved Creighton. Now she entered a large library. At the far end of the room, in an easy chair next to a reading lamp, sat Bryson Nichols. He stood and motioned her over to a chair near his.

“Hello, Ms. Caldwell. I’m so pleased to finally meet you face to face.” He held out his hand.

She remained standing and didn’t extend hers. “I wish I could say the same, Mr. Nichols.”

“I do appreciate your waiting for me to arrive back here.”

Despite her repeated prayer to remain calm, Abby felt her anger swell. “I was abducted and brought here.”

He looked surprised. “Abducted? I gave instructions for you to be invited. I do so apologize, Ms. Caldwell. An unfortunate misunderstanding. You are, of course, free to leave anytime you wish.”

“Yes, I see that. But I can’t say the same for my grandfather. You have him incarcerated.”

“Incarcerated. I would not employ that word. But I understand why you do. Please sit down, and we can discuss your grandfather and other issues that are of import to both of us.”

Abby sat in the chair and stretched out her leg.

Nichols continued. “I had to be in DC this morning. I performed a transplant on a friend of yours.”

Her voice caught in her throat. “Creighton…”

“He’s fine. It went like clockwork. A truly enlightened fellow, Professor Daniels. And now even more so, of course.”

A wave of sadness replaced her anger. She couldn’t believe that he’d received the transplant. “Can I talk to him?”

“Yes, of course. I’m sure he’d be thrilled to hear from you. I can provide his new Grid address, and my assistant can set—But you’ll need a helmet to enter VR, won’t you? I’ll have my assistant track one down for you. We should have one in storage. It may be this evening.”

“As soon as possible, please.” She erased the emotion from her voice, trying to sound in control. “And when can I contact my grandfather?”

Nichols shifted in his seat. “Ah, your grandfather. You must realize that everything that has happened with Ray has resulted from a series of miscommunications and misunderstandings.”

“Is that why you performed the brain transplant against his will and have locked him in a mental institution?”

“That is one perspective, to be sure. But Ray had planned to have the procedure done on himself. And when he disagreed so vehemently with it after his operation—and insanely threatened to shut us down—I had no choice but to have him psychiatrically examined.”

“There was nothing wrong with my grandfather until you removed his brain. You—”