She Was Supposed to Stay Broken, So I Let Her Think She Had novel · Chapter 22 of 40

Chapter 22: The Account She Could Not Burn

Vessa sets a folded sheet on the archive table and tells Kael, 'I have read the account in Lirien's letters. It records the birth-cord switch in her own hand.'

The old archive clock ticks behind her. Kael does not look at the page. He looks at Vessa, waiting for the rest.

I stay beside him. My fingers rest on the table, close to the paper but not touching it. The first thing I measure is his choice.

'When did you read it?' he asks.

'Before I agreed to hear Sera's case.' Vessa keeps her voice level. 'I wanted to know whether the record she described existed outside her account.'

The paper is folded inward. I can see a line of brown ink near the crease, but not the words. Vessa brought more than a claim. She brought something Lirien kept.

Kael's eyes move to me. 'You knew this was possible?'

'I knew Vessa had her own reasons to decide.' I leave the answer there. He has not asked me to prove the account for her.

He studies me for a moment, then returns his attention to Vessa. He does not ask what I know or where I learned it. I file that away.

'You have the letters?' he asks.

Vessa touches the folded sheet. 'I have the account I read. I will not give the whole of it to you before I know what you intend to do with it.'

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