“Then I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“Why?”
She looked toward the building behind her.
“Because I know what it’s like to discover that the person you trusted most has been keeping a terrible secret.”
“What happened to you?”
She hesitated before answering.
“I worked with Daniel and Dr. Cole years ago. At first, I believed their research could help people. I thought the program was about developing treatments that might improve certain aspects of healthy aging.”
“And then?”
“Then I discovered that the paperwork didn’t match what some participants had been told. There were questions about consent, unexplained changes to study protocols, and pressure to keep unfavorable results out of internal reports.”
My stomach tightened.
“Did you take part in the research?”
“No. I coordinated the program. I saw the documents, and I began asking questions.”
“What did Daniel do?”
“He promised me that everything would be corrected. He told me I was misunderstanding the situation. Then he asked me to sign a statement saying that I had approved certain procedures.”
