The Addendum in My Handwriting

Nico does not wait for gentleness. He brings me back to the temporary task-force office and lays out a high-resolution scan of the coroner addendum beside a pressure analysis report from the state lab. They matched the red ink annotation to my pen set from six years ago. Not just the model. The pressure pattern. The stroke angle. Mine.

"I don't remember underlining it," I say.

"I believe you." He sounds tired, not kind. "That doesn't change the page."

I stare at the line recommending dental confirmation. Under it, in my hand, is the word defer. I have no memory of writing it, only memory of standing in that fluorescent hallway with everyone talking over one another and a nurse asking whether the family was ready. Maybe I wrote it to create space. Maybe Vivian told me it was temporary. Maybe grief simply took my hand and let power guide it. Courts do not care which version feels more tragic.

"So what am I now?" I ask. "Witness or suspect?"

"Both, if I do this honestly."

The sentence should feel like betrayal. Instead it feels like the first non-fiction thing anyone has said to me all week. Nico slides over one more page: voluntary proffer agreement. If I cooperate fully, surrender devices, and make a public statement about my role before Owen's team frames it for me, the office will consider that in charging decisions.

"You want me to confess on camera."

"I want you to stop being narratively useful to people who already sold your guilt for stability."

I laugh once because the phrasing is so prosecutor it nearly sounds obscene. Then I sign. My hand shakes while doing it, which feels fair. When I slide the agreement back, Nico doesn't look relieved. He looks like a man who just moved a dangerous piece and now has to live with the board.

"Owen will retaliate financially first," he says. "Then reputationally. Possibly custodially."

"Against me?"

"Against anything you think is still yours."

My banking app pings at the exact moment. Joint household accounts: restricted pending legal review. Card access: suspended. Nico does not say I told you so. He doesn't need to.