The hospital had that typical smell.
Too clean.
Too cold.
Veronica had never really noticed it before. But now… it felt impossible to ignore.
Every step down the hallway echoed louder than it should. As if the silence around her amplified everything—the sounds, the thoughts, the doubts.
She walked beside Leon, but didn't look at him.
She couldn't.
Her mind was too full.
The conversation with that man kept looping in her head like a broken cycle.
"Your father signed it."
It didn't make sense.
It couldn't.
"You don't have to do this today," Leon said, breaking the silence.
His voice was calm, without pressure.
Veronica kept walking.
"I do."
"You didn't sleep."
"That's not the point."
Leon slowed his pace slightly, trying to match hers.
"You can wait. Think it through. Go over the information more carefully—"
"And pretend I didn't hear anything?"
She finally turned her head.
Her eyes looked more tired than he had ever seen them.
"I can't do that."
Silence returned.
But now… heavier.
More personal.
"What if he can't answer?" Leon asked quietly.
The question hit.
Veronica stopped for a second.
Just a second.
But it was enough.
"Then I'll look at him…" she said, swallowing hard, "…and try to understand if any of this is true."
She started walking again.
Slower this time.
"I need to know who he really is."
Leon didn't answer.
Because there was no easy answer to that.
The room was at the end of the hallway.
Quieter than the others.
More isolated.
Veronica stopped in front of the door.
Her hand hesitated on the handle.
For a few seconds… she didn't go in.
She just stood there.
Breathing.
Thinking.
Feeling.
"I'm scared," she whispered.
Leon didn't move too close.
But he didn't step away either.
"I know."
"What if it's all true?"
He answered without hesitation:
"Then you face it."
She let out a humorless laugh.
"You make everything sound so simple."
"It's not simple."
"But it sounds like it."
Leon took a step closer.
"It's not about being simple… it's about not running."
Her eyes met his.
And for a moment, that was enough.
She gave a slight nod.
And opened the door.
The room was quiet.
Soft lights.
The low hum of machines.
And there…
In the bed…
Was her father.
More fragile than she remembered.
More distant.
As if part of him was already gone.
Veronica felt her chest tighten.
That wasn't the image she wanted to keep.
It never was.
She walked closer slowly.
Each step heavier than the last.
"Dad…" she said softly.
No response.
Just the steady beep of the monitor.
She pulled the chair beside the bed and sat down.
She looked at him for a few seconds.
Trying to find the man she had always known.
The man who taught her.
Who took care of her.
Who—
"Did you do this?" she asked suddenly.
Her voice came out firmer than she expected.
But still… heavy.
"Tell me you didn't."
Silence.
She took a deep breath.
"I need to hear it from you."
Nothing.
Her eyes began to sting.
But she didn't look away.
"They said you destroyed people…" she continued. "That you signed things that ruined families."
Her voice faltered.
"That you… decided who stayed and who disappeared."
The silence felt louder now.
Crueler.
"That's not you."
She gently held his hand.
Cold.
Still.
"It can't be."
Her eyes filled with tears.
But she held them back.
"Tell me it's not."
The monitor didn't change.
No response.
And that…
Hurt more than any words could.
Veronica lowered her gaze.
Her breathing started to shake.
"I always saw you as someone who was right…"
She swallowed hard.
"Someone who did what was necessary, but never… like this."
The tears began to fall, silent.
"I trusted you."
Her grip on his hand tightened slightly.
"And now I don't even know what to believe."
The silence answered.
Again.
Always it.
Leon stood by the door.
Watching.
Not interrupting.
Not getting closer.
That moment wasn't his.
But even from a distance… he felt it.
The weight.
The pain.
The breaking point.
Veronica wasn't just looking for answers.
She was losing something there.
Maybe the image she had of her father.
Maybe a part of herself.
"I met someone," she said after a while.
Her voice quieter now.
More tired.
"He said you destroyed his family."
She closed her eyes for a moment.
"And I couldn't say he was lying."
The words came out almost like a confession.
"Because I don't know anymore."
The silence remained.
Unchanging.
"I need you to tell me something…"
Her voice broke completely now.
"Anything."
Nothing.
Veronica slowly let go of his hand.
As if that alone was already an answer.
She stood up.
Slower than when she came in.
As if every movement required effort.
When she turned her back to the bed… she didn't look back.
She couldn't.
She walked out of the room in silence.
Leon was there.
Waiting.
But he said nothing.
Veronica walked past him.
Kept going.
He followed.
Without pressure.
Without questions.
Just… there.
They only stopped when they reached the parking lot.
The air outside felt different.
More real.
Harsher.
Veronica leaned against the car.
And stared into nothing for a few seconds.
Then she said:
"He didn't deny it."
Her voice was low.
But steady.
Leon didn't answer right away.
"I know he can't speak…" she continued. "But…"
She swallowed hard.
"If it wasn't true… I would feel it."
Silence lingered between them.
"And what do you feel?" Leon asked.
She took a long time to answer.
A long time.
"I feel like…" she paused. "…there's something there."
Her voice faltered.
"Something I've never seen."
Her eyes filled again.
This time, she didn't hold it back as much.
"And that scares me."
Leon stepped a little closer.
Not invading.
"You're not him."
She let out a weak laugh.
"Everyone says that."
"Because it's true."
"But I grew up with him."
She looked up.
"What if I never really knew who he was?"
Silence answered.
Because that question…
Didn't have an easy answer.
Veronica took a deep breath.
Ran a hand over her face.
Trying to steady herself.
"I'm not running from this."
Leon nodded.
"I know."
"If he did this…"
Her voice grew firmer now.
More determined.
"Then I'm going to find out everything."
Her gaze changed.
It wasn't just pain anymore.
It was resolve.
"And I'm going to fix it."
Leon watched her.
And for the first time…
He saw something different in her.
Stronger.
More dangerous.
"Then we start now," he said.
Veronica nodded.
Without hesitation.
Because in that moment…
It wasn't about doubt anymore.
It was about truth.
And no matter the cost…
She was going to find it.