Chapter 9: The Child Who Was Never on the Record
Richard stared at the two girls.
For several seconds, the abandoned station seemed to disappear.
There was only the fluorescent light above them.
The rain dripping from the roof.
And two identical faces looking back at him.
One girl clutched the stuffed rabbit.
The other touched the silver crescent around her neck.
Caleb stepped closer to Richard.
“Which one is Claire?””
Neither girl answered.
Richard looked at Margaret.
“You said the hospital lost two babies.””
Margaret's lips trembled.
“Yes.””
“Then how did they survive?””
“I don't know.””
“You always say that.””
“I truly don't know.””
The girl with the rabbit took one small step forward.
“My name is Claire.””
The other girl immediately shook her head.
“No.””
Richard stared at them.
“Then what's your name?””
The girl without the rabbit looked at him.
“Lily.””
Margaret gasped.
Richard turned.
“You know that name?””
Margaret's eyes filled with tears.
“Yes.””
“Who is Lily?””
Margaret looked at the girls.
“The name Emily was told to use.””
Richard frowned.
“Use for what?””
Margaret struggled to speak.
“To protect one of them.””
Olivia moved closer.
“Margaret, stop protecting pieces of the story. Tell us everything.””
Margaret looked toward the dark tracks.
“Emily discovered the pregnancy wasn't ordinary.””
Richard's expression tightened.
“She was carrying twins.””
“Yes.””
“But why would that matter?””
“Because one child had a rare genetic marker.””
Olivia nodded slowly.
“The marker tied to your father's trust.””
Margaret shook her head.
“No.””
Richard stared.
“What?””
“The trust came later.””
He went still.
“What came first?””
Margaret looked at the girls.
“The experiment.””
The word hung in the station.
Daniel stepped closer.
“What experiment?””
Margaret took a shaky breath.
“Your father discovered a private medical program that was creating duplicate genetic identities.””
Richard's face tightened.
“Cloning?””
“No.””
“Then what?””
“Genetic matching.””
Olivia interrupted.
“Using naturally occurring twins?””
Margaret nodded.
“They were studying identical twins because their DNA was nearly indistinguishable. They wanted to build a system that could replace a dead person's identity.””
Richard looked at the girls.
“That's why they wanted Claire.””
“Yes.””
“And the other girl?””
Margaret closed her eyes.
“Lily was never supposed to exist on paper.””
Daniel stared at her.
“What did you do?””
Margaret looked ashamed.
“I helped remove one birth record.””
Richard's face hardened.
“You erased your own granddaughter.””
“I thought I was saving her.””
“You erased her.””
“I was trying to keep her alive!””
The echo of her voice traveled down the empty platform.
The girls flinched.
Richard looked at them.
Neither cried.
They simply held onto each other.
Richard's expression softened.
“It's okay.””
He crouched.
“I'm not going to hurt either of you.””
The girl with the rabbit studied him.
“Mommy said you'd say that.””
Richard's heart stopped.
“What?””
“She said you would look sad.””
Richard's voice broke.
“Where is your mother?””
The girl's eyes lowered.
“She isn't here.””
“I know.””
“She wanted to come.””
“When?””
“Before she died.””
Richard swallowed.
“What did she tell you?””
The girl with the necklace answered.
“She said Daddy would find us.””
Margaret covered her mouth.
Richard looked at her.
“Emily knew.””
“Yes.””
“She knew the girls survived.””
“Yes.””
“Then why didn't she tell me?””
Margaret couldn't answer.
Lily did.
“She tried.””
Richard turned toward her.
“She wrote letters.””
“Where are they?””
Lily looked at the woman with the rabbit.
The girl opened the stuffed rabbit's back seam.
Richard stared.
Inside was a tiny plastic memory card.
Olivia carefully took it.
“What's on this?””
Lily answered,
“Mommy's voice.””
Richard felt his chest tighten.
“Play it.””
Olivia pulled out her phone adapter.
The recording began.
Static.
Then Emily.
“Richard.””
He closed his eyes.
“I don't know if you'll ever hear this.””
His breathing shook.
“I need you to forgive me.””
The recording crackled.
“I didn't leave you.””
Richard looked at Margaret.
“She says she didn't leave me.””
Margaret lowered her head.
Emily continued.
“I was trying to protect all three of you.””
Richard's eyes opened.
“All three?””
Olivia looked at him.
Emily's voice continued.
“Caleb is your son. Claire is your daughter.””
A pause.
“And Lily is your daughter too.””
Richard froze.
The station seemed to tilt.
He stared at the two girls.
Twins.
Three children.
One boy.
Two girls.
Emily's voice returned.
“Lily was supposed to be hidden because her DNA is different from Claire's.””
Richard frowned.
“Different?””
Olivia stopped the recording.
She looked confused.
“What does that mean?””
Daniel answered.
“Then they're not identical.””
Richard looked at the girls.
“They look identical.””
“Yes,” Daniel said.
“But their DNA isn't?””
“Not completely.””
Olivia rewound the file.
Emily continued.
“Doctors believed Lily was identical, but she carries a marker that connects her to my side of the family.””
Richard stared.
“That doesn't make sense.””
“It does,” Olivia said quietly.
Richard looked at her.
“How?””
“Two embryos can develop from the same fertilized egg and still show rare genetic differences after early development.””
Richard looked at the girls again.
“So Lily wasn't useful as a duplicate.””
“No,” Olivia said.
“She was useful as herself.””
Richard felt a cold realization.
“That's why they wanted Claire.””
“Yes.””
“Because Claire matched the system.””
“And Lily could expose it.””
Margaret nodded.
“Your father knew.””
Richard's voice hardened.
“What did he do?””
“He made a deal.””
“With Victor?””
Margaret shook her head.
“With the hospital.””
Daniel looked stunned.
“To hide the girls?””
“To separate them.””
Richard stared.
“You let strangers raise my daughters.””
Margaret whispered,
“Yes.””
Richard stood.
His face was wet with tears.
“How could you?””
Margaret looked at him.
“Because the people behind the program had already killed three families.””
Richard's anger faltered.
“You're saying they killed people?””
“Yes.””
“Who?””
“Parents who refused to surrender their children's records.””
Daniel looked away.
“How many?””
Margaret answered softly.
“Eight.””
Silence.
Richard looked down at Caleb.
The boy was listening.
He asked,
“Are those girls my sisters?””
Richard knelt beside him.
“Yes.””
Caleb looked at the two girls.
“Both?””
“Both.””
The girl with the rabbit smiled.
“You're my brother.””
Caleb smiled back.
“I always wanted a sister.””
The other girl laughed softly.
“You got two.””
For the first time that night, Richard smiled.
Then a gunshot cracked across the station.
The smile vanished.
The windows near the far platform exploded.
Richard grabbed Caleb and dropped behind a concrete pillar.
Olivia pulled both girls down.
Daniel scanned the darkness.
“Sniper.””
Margaret screamed.
“Get down!””
Another shot struck the metal bench.
The stuffed rabbit flew from Claire's hands.
Richard looked toward it.
“Claire!””
The girl crawled toward the rabbit.
Richard shouted,
“Stay down!””
Too late.
A figure appeared at the end of the platform.
Black coat.
Gun raised.
Richard saw the face.
He recognized it.
Jonathan Pierce.
But Jonathan wasn't pointing at them.
He was pointing behind them.
A second figure emerged from the service tunnel.
Jonathan fired.
The stranger dropped.
Richard stared.
“Jonathan!””
Jonathan shouted,
“Get the girls out!””
Another gunshot.
Jonathan ducked behind a pillar.
Daniel rushed to help him.
Richard gathered both girls.
“Come on.””
They followed him through the station corridor.
Olivia stayed behind with Margaret.
“Move!””
Richard ran.
Caleb held Lily's hand.
Claire held Richard's coat.
Behind them, gunfire echoed.
They reached an old maintenance room.
Daniel slammed the door.
Jonathan entered seconds later.
He locked it.
“Are you hurt?””
“No,” Richard said.
Jonathan looked at the girls.
“They found both of them.””
Richard stared at him.
“Who?””
Jonathan took a breath.
“The people your father was hiding from.””
“Who are they?””
Jonathan looked toward Margaret.
“They're not a company.””
Margaret whispered,
“Tell him.””
Jonathan nodded.
“They're a network.””
Olivia frowned.
“A network of doctors, lawyers, and financiers.””
“Working together?””
“Yes.””
“For what?””
Jonathan looked at Caleb.
“Identity replacement.””
Richard's blood ran cold.
“So they want the twins.””
“They want one specific twin.””
Richard looked at Claire.
“Which one?””
Jonathan shook his head.
“That depends on which girl is carrying the marker.””
Olivia interrupted.
“We can test them.””
“No.””
Jonathan's voice was immediate.
“Do not test them in a normal lab.””
“Why?””
“Because every connected laboratory has already been compromised.””
Richard stared at him.
“Then where do we test them?””
Jonathan reached into his pocket and pulled out a brass key.
“Your father's original laboratory.””
Richard frowned.
“My father had a laboratory?””
“Yes.””
“Where?””
Jonathan looked at him.
“Under the church where your parents were married.””
Richard stared.
“That church burned down.””
Jonathan nodded.
“Exactly.””
A long silence followed.
Then Lily tugged at Richard's sleeve.
“Daddy?””
Richard crouched.
“What is it?””
She whispered,
“Mommy told me something before she died.””
“What?””
Lily looked around nervously.
“She said never let Grandma see the blue room.””
Richard glanced at Margaret.
Margaret's face went white.
Olivia noticed.
“What blue room?””
Margaret didn't answer.
Richard stood.
“Mom.””
Margaret shook her head.
“No.””
“What is the blue room?””
“I can't tell you.””
“Why?””
“Because that's where Emily hid the original evidence.””
Daniel stared at her.
“You knew about the room?””
Margaret nodded.
Richard's voice lowered.
“And what's in it?””
Margaret looked at the two girls.
“The proof of who ordered Emily killed.””
Richard went still.
“You mean you know who killed my wife.””
Margaret's eyes filled.
“I know who gave the order.””
“Who?””
She looked at Caleb.
Then Claire.
Then Lily.
And whispered,
“Your father.””
The room fell silent.
Richard stared at her.
“My father ordered Emily's death?””
Margaret nodded.
“But he didn't kill her.””
“Then who did?””
Margaret's voice broke.
“I did.””
Richard's face drained of color.
“You?””
“I wasn't supposed to.””
“What do you mean?””
Margaret started crying.
“I was the one who gave him the location.””
Richard couldn't speak.
Margaret looked at him.
“And when I realized what I'd done…”
She swallowed.
“It was already too late.””
From the hallway came three slow knocks.
Everyone froze.
A man's voice followed.
“Richard.””
Jonathan whispered,
“Don't answer.””
The voice outside laughed.
“You've been looking for Claire.””
A pause.
“Now look for the woman who gave the order.””
Richard stared at Margaret.
Then at the locked door.
May you like
The voice continued.
“Because she is standing in the room with you.””
