I stood by the window, the weight of the doctor’s words pressing down on me like a physical burden. If a stranger who had only seen Leo for ten minutes could spot the resemblance, then I was living on borrowed time. The only reason Mr Vale hadn’t known suspected anything is because he hadn’t seen Leo properly.
I began to pace the small room, retracing every encounter. The night Leo was sick, the room had been dim, lit only by a bedside lamp. Leo’s eyes had been glassed over with fever, half-closed and unfocused. Then there was last night, when he suddenly appeared here too. The lights had been off, and Mr Vale was so blinded by his own rage that he’d barely glanced at the boy.
Maybe if Mr Vale sees him properly, he might suspect a thing or two and this was bad for my mission. I needed
