The meeting ended with no conclusion reached. Richard never returned, and without the health secretary, there was nothing left to debate. Ministers gathered their bags and their coats, formed a group of two or three, and muttered between themselves as they headed out.
"We will reconvene at eight tomorrow," the prime minister announced behind the. "By then, Dr. Meier should have composed himself."
No one replied, but he was sure they had heard him, and that was enough. He dismissed his secretary for the day and walked back to his office with his hands clasped behind his back and his expression unreadable, but beneath the surface he was brimming with excitement.
The chaos in the Cabinet Room meant nothing to him; all that mattered was his son's satisfaction, and he was ready to do anything to see his son smile even if it meant using dire means.
He pushed open the door to his office and stopped.
Richard, who had supposedly disappeared, was sitting on the sofa.
