Still, not everyone was convinced.
One of the younger doctors sneered slightly as he held up a fruit, its skin glowing faintly in the afternoon light. "Miss Rodriguez, did you tamper with these? Inject them with enhancers? A fruit doesn't shine like this naturally."
Bianca opened her mouth, panic prickling her chest. "No, I—"
"She didn't," Eduardo interrupted, his voice steel wrapped in velvet. He stepped closer, eyes locking onto the doctor's with quiet intensity. "The fruit shines because it is alive. Healthy. Vibrant. If your science cannot yet measure vitality, perhaps the fault lies not in the fruit but in the limits of your instruments."
The doctor faltered, caught off guard by Eduardo's tone. The technicians shuffled uncomfortably, avoiding his gaze.
Bianca stared at him, stunned. Alive. He had said it with such conviction, such certainty, as though he wasn't speaking metaphorically. As though he knew a truth none of them did.
---
Reporters pressed against the gates, microphones raised high.
"Mr. Moreno, are you saying these fruits are beyond science?"
"Are you suggesting the supernatural?"
"Miss Rodriguez, do you agree with him?"
Bianca flinched at the barrage, but Eduardo lifted a hand slightly, not commanding, merely suggesting silence...and remarkably, the crowd obeyed.
"I'm saying," he answered evenly, "that not everything valuable can be reduced to data. This land has history, heritage. To treat it only as an experiment dishonors what it is."
Salazar frowned but didn't argue. The momentary hush was almost reverent, broken only by the rustle of leaves in the orchard.
Bianca's heart pounded. Who was this man? A consultant, yes, but how did he command a crowd with so few words? And why did she feel safer now, standing beside him, than she ever had since the media storm began?
---
As the officials packed samples into their van, a strange tension rippled through the group. One technician, curious, bit into a slice of guava he had set aside.
"Don't—" Bianca started, but it was too late.
Within seconds, the man swayed on his feet. His eyes widened, breath catching in his throat. Then, just as suddenly, color rushed back into his cheeks. He gasped, clutching his chest.
"I...my arrhythmia," he stammered. "It's… it's gone."
Chaos erupted. Reporters screamed questions, cameras flashed wildly, the officials tried to restrain the technician as he babbled about healing.
Bianca froze, horror flooding her veins. This was the very proof she feared and now it was on full display.
But Eduardo moved with quiet authority. He guided the technician gently back to a seat, his hand firm on the man's shoulder. "You overexerted yourself. Rest. No statements to the press until you're cleared."
His tone brooked no argument. Even the police officers instinctively obeyed, forming a shield around the shaken scientist.
In the swirl of panic, Eduardo leaned close to Bianca, his voice low and steady, meant only for her.
"Do not fear," he whispered. "I will not let them consume you. Not the press, not the government, not even the fruits themselves."
His golden eyes glimmered faintly in the fading light, and Bianca felt an inexplicable shiver half relief, half something deeper she didn't dare name.
---
End of Chapter 34