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# Chapter 2 | The Hook
- URL: https://www.tarynbarnes.com/the-genesis-of-a-wound-chapter-2/
- Published: 2026-06-16T05:36:02.000Z
- Updated: 2026-06-16T05:36:02.000Z
- Description: The man you should be investigating just handed you the story.
- Author: Taryn Barnes
- Tags: The Genesis of a Wound

Lydia Park's desk was a geological survey of her last three months. Empty espresso cups. Court transcripts. A half-eaten protein bar that had achieved artifact status.

Her phone buzzed against a stack of papers on the AI developer she'd just finished eviscerating in the Chronicle.

She didn't recognize the number. "Park. This better be a correction or a lawsuit."

"How about the truth."

She knew the voice immediately.

"Mercer."

"I read your piece on Keller. You were right about him."

Lydia waited.

"I have a problem. A doctor in my program. Arrested. Misconduct with minors. The police have everything — I made sure of it. I need someone to tell it straight. No circus. No speculation. Just what happened."

"You're calling me to report your own scandal?"

"I'm calling because I'm done managing this. I want the truth told by someone who'll tell it regardless of what it costs me."

"Why me?"

"Because you were right about Keller. And I need someone who's going to be right about this."

He hung up before she could ask about the boy.

Lydia sat with the dead line for a moment. Then she picked up her espresso. It was cold. She drank it anyway.

Ten minutes later a courier in a charcoal-grey uniform arrived at the security desk with a heavy wax-sealed envelope. Lydia turned it over in her hands before breaking the seal.

The familiar surge hit before she'd read a single word.