Page 125 - TruthAboutLyingCoverFlipAmazon20
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Nicholas Boothman
Henry looked at the child again. The boy was sleeping now, his breathing shallow and labored.
“What can I do?”
The man wrote with a jarring, rhythmic screech of chalk against slate: Nothing. You can't fix this. He paused, then added: Not without destroying the system you built. And if you destroy it, the ones you just saved will be the first to go.
Henry looked away, the name Aimee Quinn flashing in his mind like a warning light. He could still see her pale, smiling face in the hospital bed.
“There has to be another way.”
There isn't. That's what you're here to learn.
Henry's phone buzzed. The unknown number:
ASSESSMENT PROTOCOL ACTIVE 24 HOURS REMAINING
EXHAUSTED ADMISSION REQUIRED ACKNOWLEDGE LIMITATIONS
He stared at the message. Then at the child. Then at the man with the chalkboard.
“I can't justify this.” He said. “It's necessary and it's wrong. That's all I have.”
The man read the message. Then he wrote: That's the first honest thing you've said since you got here.
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