Harold paused to think, then said, "Well... you could find a sturdy rope and tie Joshua up for now. If you''re really worried, maybe even use a pair of handcuffs and ankle restraints. That way, he''d have a much harder time getting loose."<fn5120> For original chapters go to find?novel</fn5120>


    Ste waspletely taken aback. She''d called Harold hoping he might know what kind of medication Joshua usually took. And now Harold was telling her to tie the man up?


    "Harold, are you serious? You''re not joking, are you?" she asked, doubt clear in her voice.


    Harold wanted to say he was dead serious. But it was obvious Ste had no idea what Joshua was really like, nor how frightening things got when he had an episode.


    He sighed and tried to exin in a different way. "Look... Joshua''s condition, it''s an old issue. Every time it hits, he gets dangerously vtile-his temper''s out of control, his emotions swing all over the ce, and honestly, he barely recognizes anyone. It''s like all reason just vanishes. There''s no miracle cure for this, nothing that really helps when it''s happening. He''s seen countless doctors-none of it has worked."


    Ste hesitated, then asked, "But why? What caused Joshua to end up like this?"


    Harold replied, "It''splicated. Part of it''s insomnia, but there are psychological factors too. Bottom line, it''s tough to treat. The doctors have said they''d need to work through the mental side of things first, before anything else will make a difference."


    In other words, Joshua''s illness was mostly rooted in his mind. He wasn''t exactly a saint to begin with, but this condition just made everything worse.


    It was a Gardner family thing-something passed down through generations. Even the best doctors couldn''t fix a w that deep. Maybe it was just that nobody''s perfect: the Gardners were blessed with good looks and sharp minds- geniuses, every one of them. But most of them came with a streak of instability.


    To be fair, Joshua hadn''t had an episode in quite a while. In the past, it would happen every month or two without fail. But ever since Joshua had been around Ste, his moods had almost always stayed steady. Lately, though, something had changed... Harold couldn''t say what.


    He cleared his throat. "Ms. Cameron,


    the most important thing is to avoid any major emotional swings or


    If gets


    shocks. If Joshua gets upset.or startled, that''s what usually sets off another episode."  s


    The more Ste listened, the more uneasy she felt. Everything Harold was describing—wasn''t this exactly how people talked about psychiatric patients who couldn''t handle stress?  s


    "Harold, you and Joshua are close. Do you know anyone named Stuart? Is there some kind of bad blood between him and Joshua?" she asked.


    "Stuart?" Harold sounded genuinely puzzled. "Never heard of him."


    He left something unsaid—if there really was some deep grudge between Joshua and this Stuart, would Stuart even still be alive? He would''ve been long gone by


    now.


    But just because Harold didn''t know about it didn''t mean nothing had happened between Joshua and Stuart. This wasn''t the time to dwell on that, though.


    Ste pressed, "So there''s really no way to help him when he''s like this?"


    Harold was silent for a moment before replying, "Well... there is one thing. In the past, whenever Joshua felt an episodeing on, he''d go listen to wolin music. helped, a little. But once he actually snapped, even music couldn''t reach him.”  s


    Ste understood what Harold was getting at. Her expression dimmed as she nced down at her own hands. She couldn''t y the violin anymore.


    Harold added quietly, "The good news is, when Joshua gets like this, it neversts long. Three days at most, and he''ll starting back to himself."