Page 35 of Pocket Wife

“Yes.”

“And you did it anyway.”

“Yes.”

She walks several paces before speaking again. “Why?”

I look across the valley, at the fields Helix called dormant, at the roofs of homes placed where records claimed no lasting community had existed.

“Because the truth is no longer incomplete,” I say. “It is being obstructed.”

Lucy nods once, slowly.

She no longer looks at me as if I might become another threat.

Behind us, Maev Orlan remains in the broken shed with her cane, her fear, and testimony Helix can no longer erase.

CHAPTER 15

LUCY

The transport should know the road.

That’s what I keep thinking as the valley falls behind us and the eastern ridge rises ahead, all stone, scrubgrass, and old survey markers half-swallowed by time. The cooperative’s utility crawler has traveled this route for decades. It knows the bends better than most people know their own kitchens.

Still, I keep one hand braced against the dash.

Torren wanted to send two riders behind us, but Rethan refused to risk drawing Helix’s attention to the depot before we knew what remained there. I agreed, then regretted it by the third bend.

Rethan notices my grip. “You distrust the vehicle?”

“I distrust the week.”

“That is not an irrational position.”

I glance over. “Careful. You almost sounded comforting.”

“I will correct the error.”

Despite myself, I smile.

The copied memos from Maev Orlan lie sealed in a case between us. One access log referenced Westline as the first place where local land names were translated into regional coordinates. If the old depot still holds backup survey plates, they might prove the reclassification was not only wrong but intentional.

Intent matters to Rethan.

To me, the difference between error and theft has become thinner than paper.

The road narrows after the last orchard. Below, Solaris Valley spreads in green and gold under the twin suns. From up here, it looks peaceful enough to break my heart.

“Maev said the depot was cleared years ago,” I say.

“Cleared does not always mean empty.”

“And if Helix cleared it first?”

“Then we document the absence.”

“You make disappointment sound very official.”