So they blackmailed him instead. They promised to pay the bookmakers if Caleb stayed behind and put the last nails in my coffin.”

My own family. A cartel of cowards.

“We take this to the police,” I said, reaching for my coat. “Right now.”

“No.” His cane cracked against the hardwood. “Local police cannot stop a signed transport order backed by a licensed physician. They will stand in that doorway and read it and hand it back to him.

By the time anyone untangles the bureaucracy, I will be strapped to a bed in a ward, full of sedatives, unable to speak for myself.”

I stood there with my coat half on, and the answer arrived so plainly I said it out loud.