Chapter 9: The Third Child
Daniel stared at his mother.
“The second baby,” he said carefully, “was never Victoria?””
Evelyn shook her head.
“No.””
Victoria looked at her.
“Then who am I?””
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“You are Daniel’s biological daughter.””
Claire's breath caught.
“But you weren't the second child.””
Victoria stepped closer.
“Who was?””
Evelyn looked at Lena.
Everyone followed her gaze.
The little girl stood beside Claire, clutching the rabbit under one arm.
Daniel’s stomach dropped.
“No.””
Evelyn whispered, “There were three babies.””
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Claire stared at her.
“That’s impossible.””
“I wish it were.””
“You said two.””
“I was told there were two.””
“Then how do you know there were three?””
Evelyn looked toward the archive shelves.
“Because your father found the third record.””
Mercer’s face changed.
“Where?””
Evelyn pointed toward the red folder.
“Inside the laboratory file.””
Daniel picked it up.
He turned page after page.
Three infant identifications.
Three wristband numbers.
Three entries.
The first belonged to Lena.
The second belonged to a child registered under a temporary number.
The third had been deliberately removed.
Daniel looked up.
“Why was the third record erased?””
Evelyn answered quietly.
“Because that baby was the one Bellweather wanted.””
Victoria stared at the file.
“Then why did they take me?””
“Because they thought you were her.””
Victoria went still.
“They were wrong.””
“Yes.””
Claire's voice trembled.
“How could they confuse my own daughters?””
“They didn't know the third baby survived.””
Daniel looked at Lena.
His daughter was staring back at him.
“What are you saying?””
Evelyn looked directly at him.
“The third baby was taken before you ever saw her.””
Claire staggered backward.
“I saw both.””
Evelyn shook her head.
“You saw two babies.””
Claire's eyes filled.
“No.””
“You saw Lena.””
“Yes.””
“And another baby.””
“Yes.””
“But the other baby was not Victoria.””
Victoria's face crumpled.
“Then who was I?””
Evelyn looked at her.
“You were brought into the hospital after the original transfer.””
Daniel frowned.
“Brought in?””
“Jonathan arranged it.””
Victoria whispered, “A replacement.””
Evelyn nodded.
“He needed a baby who could be passed off as the missing child.””
Claire looked sick.
“You replaced my daughter with Victoria.””
“No.””
Evelyn's voice broke.
“I didn't.””
“Who did?””
“Jonathan.””
Daniel's hand tightened around the file.
“So Victoria was kidnapped too.””
“Yes.””
“And the third baby?””
Evelyn couldn't meet his eyes.
“We never found her.””
Claire collapsed into a chair.
“My baby…”
Daniel knelt beside her.
“We'll find her.””
“How?””
“I don't know.””
He stood.
“But we will.””
Mercer suddenly turned toward the archive shelves.
“Wait.””
He pulled out a file marked *NURSERY TRANSFER — 6:18 PM*.
Daniel opened it.
A single photograph fell out.
A baby wrapped in a pale yellow blanket.
On the blanket was a handwritten tag.
*BABY C — H.*
Claire stared.
“I know that blanket.””
Daniel looked at her.
“You do?””
“It was mine.””
Mercer looked closely.
“Then this photograph was taken before the transfer.””
Daniel pointed toward the background.
A nurse stood behind the crib.
Beside her was a man.
Not Jonathan.
Not Thomas.
Not Daniel's father.
A different man.
Daniel's voice dropped.
“Who is that?””
Evelyn stepped forward.
Her face went pale.
“I don't know.””
Mercer took the photograph.
“Yes, you do.””
Evelyn looked at him.
“You've seen him before.””
“Where?””
“In the Bellweather records.””
Mercer turned the photograph over.
Nothing.
Then he noticed a tiny embossed symbol in the corner.
“A laboratory code.””
Daniel stared.
“Can you trace it?””
“I can try.””
“Try now.””
Mercer connected his tablet to the archive database.
For several seconds, there was only silence.
Then his face changed.
“I found it.””
Daniel stepped closer.
“Who?””
Mercer read the file.
“Dr. Adrian Cross.””
Victoria's expression changed.
“I know that name.””
Claire looked at her.
“How?””
“He was one of the doctors who tested me.””
Mercer scrolled.
“Former Bellweather geneticist.””
Daniel looked at the photograph.
“And he was at the hospital.””
“Yes.””
“What happened to him?””
Mercer stared at the screen.
“He died.””
Daniel shook his head.
“Everyone in this story is dead until we meet them.””
Mercer looked up.
“That may be the problem.””
He turned the tablet toward Daniel.
The file showed Adrian Cross's death certificate.
Six years ago.
Same month Daniel's father died.
Same week the divorce records were altered.
Daniel's face hardened.
“Too convenient.””
Mercer nodded.
Then another document appeared.
A property transfer.
Daniel read the address.
His breath caught.
“The old laboratory.””
The same location the anonymous caller had given them.
Claire stood.
“We're going.””
Mercer shook his head.
“They're expecting us.””
Daniel looked at him.
“Exactly.””
Victoria stepped forward.
“I’m coming.””
“No.””
She looked at him.
“Daniel—”
“You've been lied to your entire life. I don't know who to trust.””
Victoria nodded slowly.
“I understand.””
Claire looked at her.
“You should come.””
Daniel turned.
“Claire.””
“She has answers we need.””
Victoria's eyes filled with tears.
“Thank you.””
Evelyn stepped forward.
“I’m coming too.””
Daniel looked at her.
“No.””
“You need me.””
“You've kept secrets for six years.””
“I kept you alive.””
Daniel's voice hardened.
“You don't get to use that as an excuse anymore.””
Evelyn flinched.
“Then take this.””
She reached into her coat.
A small brass key lay in her palm.
Daniel stared.
“What is it?””
“Your father's laboratory key.””
Mercer took one look.
“Where did you get that?””
“From him.””
“When?””
“The night before he died.””
Daniel held out his hand.
“Why didn't you give it to me?””
Evelyn's eyes filled.
“Because he told me not to.””
Daniel took the key.
“What else did he tell you?””
Evelyn hesitated.
“That if you ever discovered the third child…”
She looked toward Lena.
“…you were never to trust the first person who claimed to be protecting her.””
The room went cold.
Claire looked at Victoria.
Victoria looked back.
Daniel's expression hardened.
“Let's go.””
They left the archive through a rear tunnel that opened into the old carriage house.
Outside, the rain had stopped.
The estate was silent.
Too silent.
Daniel unlocked an old sedan stored beneath a tarp.
He helped Lena into the back seat.
Claire sat beside her.
Victoria took the passenger seat.
Mercer drove.
Evelyn remained behind.
Daniel looked back before the gate disappeared.
His mother stood beneath the porch light.
She looked smaller than he had ever seen her.
Then the gate closed.
The drive to the laboratory took forty minutes.
Nobody spoke.
Finally, Victoria broke the silence.
“I don't remember my first year.””
Claire looked at her.
“You don't?””
“No.””
“Nothing?””
“Only flashes.””
“What flashes?””
“A woman singing.””
Claire went still.
“What song?””
Victoria hummed softly.
An old lullaby.
Claire's eyes widened.
“That was the song I sang to Lena.””
Victoria's face changed.
“I remember it.””
Claire reached across the space between them.
For the first time, she touched Victoria's hand.
Victoria cried.
“You're my daughter.””
Victoria nodded.
“I think I always knew.””
Daniel looked at them through the mirror.
Then he saw the laboratory ahead.
The building was abandoned.
Windows boarded.
A rusted sign hung over the entrance.
*CLOSED — STRUCTURAL HAZARD*
Mercer parked.
Daniel stepped out.
The brass key fit the front lock.
Click.
The door opened.
Inside, everything was covered in dust.
But fresh footprints crossed the floor.
Daniel crouched.
“They've been here.””
Mercer nodded.
“Recently.””
A light flickered at the end of the hallway.
Then a monitor turned on by itself.
A man's face appeared.
Older.
Thin.
Alive.
Dr. Adrian Cross.
Daniel stared.
“You're supposed to be dead.””
Cross smiled.
“So was Thomas.””
Victoria stepped closer.
“Why did you take me?””
Cross ignored her.
His eyes went directly to Lena.
“Because you finally brought her.””
Claire grabbed Lena's hand.
“Who?””
Cross's smile widened.
“The last child.””
Daniel stepped forward.
“You took my daughter.””
“No.””
Cross shook his head.
“You still don't understand.””
He leaned toward the camera.
“I never wanted Victoria.””
“I never wanted Lena.””
Daniel's blood ran cold.
Cross said:
“The child I wanted was the one your family erased.””
The screen flickered.
A second image appeared.
A recent photograph.
A little girl.
About six years old.
Dark hair.
White dress.
Standing in front of a window.
Beside her was a handwritten name.
*ELLA HART.*
Claire gasped.
“That’s my child.””
Daniel stared at the screen.
“No.””
Cross smiled.
“She has been alive all this time.””
Then every light in the laboratory went out.
May you like
And somewhere in the darkness, a little girl's voice whispered:
“Mommy?””
