Madelyn looked at Kai warily. "Why should I believe you?"

Kai brushed the wrinkles from his crisp white coat. "I've said my piece. Whether you believe it or not is your business."

"Look, I have no reason to trust you," Madelyn retorted, weariness lining her voice. "You know, I don't have the time or the emotional capacity to worry about this anymore. If you're seeking revenge against my family through me or want to use me for some purpose, you've got it all wrong. I've washed my hands of the past. Whether it's my father or the cause of my mother's death, what does it matter now? What do you expect a woman with less than six months to live to do? If my mother were here, she wouldn't want me agonizing over the past either. Maybe this is my fate, not living to see thirty. Maybe it's my comeuppance for being his daughter."

Madelyn gazed at the man sitting in the wheelchair, who was also watching her intently. She managed a faint smile, and he returned it. "All I want is right in front o