“What does that mean?” Nathan asked.
“Ozone reacts with fragrance terpenes.”
“And?”
“Can form irritating byproducts.”
“Dangerous?”
“Potentially.”
“Enough to explain everything?”
“Too soon.”
Facts.
Again.
The boys were moved fully off the floor.
All fragrance and ionizing systems shut down.
Environmental samples went to a laboratory.
Maya asked to review their blood work for biomarkers of exposure only after their medical team agreed.
Dr. Reeves finally said:
“This should have been checked.”
I looked at him.
He sounded tired.
Not defensive.
Nathan did not attack.
He asked:
“Why wasn’t it?”
Reeves
answered honestly.
“Because their early lab abnormalities pointed elsewhere.”
“To what?”
“Inflammation. Nutritional issues. endocrine irregularities.”
“Could environmental exposure cause those?”
“Some indirectly.”
“Then?”
“We anchored.”
Maya glanced at him.
He continued.
“We kept looking for a rare disease because both twins were affected.”
I asked:
“Why did that suggest genetics instead of environment?”
Reeves looked at me.
