Chapter 8: The Doctor’s Final Test
The old man stood at the end of the corridor.
For a moment, nobody moved.
The emergency light above him flickered.
On.
Off.
On.
Making his face appear and disappear in pieces.
Marcus tightened his arm around Lena.
His mother stepped backward.
“No.””
The doctor smiled faintly.
“You remember me.””
Her voice shook.
“Dr. Hale.””
Marcus looked between them.
“Who is he?””
Nobody answered.
The old man walked closer.
His white coat was clean.
Too clean.
Like he had stepped out of another time.
“Marcus Cole,” he said.
“You look exactly like your father.””
Marcus's expression hardened.
“I don't take that as a compliment.””
Dr. Hale smiled.
“Your father would have been disappointed.””
“My father is the reason we are here.””
“No.””
The doctor stopped a few feet away.
“Your father is the reason you finally know the truth.””
Vanessa stepped forward.
“You should have stayed away.””
Dr. Hale looked at her.
“And you should have told him seventeen years ago.””
Marcus turned sharply.
“You knew?””
Vanessa looked down.
Marcus's voice rose.
“You knew this man was still alive?””
“No.””
Dr. Hale laughed softly.
“She knew I was alive.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“I thought you disappeared.””
“I did.””
“Then why are you here?””
The doctor looked at the folder in his hand.
“Because the final results are ready.””
Marcus stared at the folder.
“Zoe's test results.””
“Yes.””
“Why do you have them?””
Dr. Hale looked toward the old maternity rooms.
“Because I performed the original tests.””
Marcus felt anger rise.
“You tested my daughter without my permission.””
The doctor's expression didn't change.
“Your father requested it.””
“My father wasn't her parent.””
“No.””
Dr. Hale looked at Lena.
“Neither was he.””
The words cut through the hallway.
Lena looked away.
Marcus stepped forward.
“Be careful.””
Dr. Hale tilted his head.
“Still protective.””
“She's my daughter.””
The doctor smiled.
“And that is exactly what Victor wanted.””
Marcus frowned.
“What?””
Dr. Hale opened the folder.
“You think your father wanted Zoe because she was special.””
He pulled out a document.
“He wanted her because he was afraid.””
“Afraid of what?””
The doctor handed him the paper.
Marcus took it.
It was a genetic report.
He scanned the first page.
Then the second.
Then stopped.
His face changed.
“What is this?””
Dr. Hale answered calmly.
“The reason your father spent years hiding the truth.””
Marcus looked up.
“Explain.””
“Your family carries a rare genetic marker.””
Marcus stared.
“Like you said before.””
“Yes.””
“And?””
Dr. Hale pointed at the report.
“Most people who inherit it never experience any problems.””
Marcus looked confused.
“Then why did my father care?””
“Because your father believed knowledge was power.””
“That doesn't explain kidnapping a child.””
“No.””
Dr. Hale looked at Lena.
“It explains why he was desperate to know which twin inherited it.””
Marcus looked back at the report.
“Both girls?””
Dr. Hale nodded.
“Both.””
The hallway went silent.
Vanessa whispered:
“Both?””
“Yes.””
Marcus stared.
“So everything he did…”
“Was pointless.””
Dr. Hale closed the folder.
“Your father spent seventeen years trying to identify which child carried the marker.””
Marcus looked at Lena.
“And he never found out.””
“No.””
“Because they both had it.””
“Yes.””
Marcus felt sick.
All the cruelty.
All the lies.
All the years.
For nothing.
But something bothered him.
“Why didn't you tell him?””
Dr. Hale looked at him.
“Because I did.””
Marcus frowned.
“What?””
“I told Victor the results.””
“And?””
“He didn't believe them.””
“Why?””
“Because he needed one child to be valuable and one child to be disposable.””
Lena's face tightened.
Marcus looked at her.
His daughter.
A child who had spent her life separated from her family because of someone's obsession.
He turned back to Dr. Hale.
“You helped him.””
The doctor's expression shifted slightly.
“Yes.””
The answer was unexpected.
No excuse.
No denial.
Marcus stepped closer.
“You admit it?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
The doctor looked exhausted.
“Because I was afraid.””
Marcus almost laughed.
“Everyone says that.””
Dr. Hale nodded.
“Because fear is what allowed Victor Cole to control everyone around him.””
He looked at Vanessa.
“Her.””
Then at Marcus's mother.
“Her.””
Then at Marcus.
“And eventually you.””
Marcus's jaw tightened.
“You expect sympathy?””
“No.””
The doctor looked down.
“I expect judgment.””
Nobody spoke.
Then Marcus asked:
“Why are you here?””
Dr. Hale looked at the folder.
“Because Victor left instructions.””
Marcus stared.
“My father?””
“Yes.””
“He planned this?””
“He knew eventually someone would find the room.””
Marcus looked toward Vanessa.
“The messages.””
Dr. Hale nodded.
“I sent them.””
The hallway went cold.
“You sent them?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because Victor's final instruction was simple.””
“What?””
Dr. Hale looked directly at Marcus.
“Make sure Marcus learns the truth before Zoe turns eighteen.””
Marcus frowned.
“Why?””
The doctor didn't answer immediately.
Then he said:
“Because Victor believed Zoe would come looking for answers.””
Marcus looked at Lena.
“And?””
“He wanted you to know everything before she did.””
Marcus's expression hardened.
“My father cared about protecting me?””
“No.””
The doctor's voice was quiet.
“He cared about controlling the story.””
Marcus looked away.
Of course.
Even dead, Victor was still trying to decide what everyone knew.
His phone vibrated.
Everyone looked.
A message.
From the same unknown number.
Marcus opened it.
*Ask Dr. Hale about the second file.*
Marcus looked up.
“The second file.””
Dr. Hale went still.
Vanessa noticed.
“You know.””
The doctor said nothing.
Marcus stepped closer.
“What second file?””
Dr. Hale tightened his grip on the folder.
“There is no need.””
Marcus's voice dropped.
“What second file?””
The doctor looked at Lena.
Then at Zoe's photograph on Marcus's phone.
Finally, he sighed.
“Your father ordered another test.””
“On who?””
Dr. Hale hesitated.
“On you.””
Marcus froze.
“Me?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because Victor suspected something was wrong.””
“With me?””
“With your memory.””
The words made Marcus's face change.
“What does that mean?””
Dr. Hale opened the folder again.
Inside was a medical record.
Marcus took it.
The date was seventeen years ago.
The patient name:
*Marcus Cole.*
He read the diagnosis.
Then stopped.
“This is impossible.””
Vanessa looked at him.
“What?””
Marcus couldn't speak.
Dr. Hale answered.
“Your father believed you had forgotten something important.””
Marcus looked up.
“I would remember.””
The doctor's expression was serious.
“Would you?””
A strange silence filled the hallway.
Marcus stared at the paper.
A hospital admission.
A neurological evaluation.
A treatment plan.
He shook his head.
“No.””
His mother whispered:
“Marcus…”
He looked at her.
“You knew?””
She looked away.
His chest tightened.
“Everyone knew something except me.””
His mother stepped closer.
“I tried to protect you.””
“From what?””
She didn't answer.
Marcus looked at Dr. Hale.
“What happened to me?””
The doctor lowered his voice.
“The night Zoe and Lena were born wasn't the only night Victor changed your life.””
Marcus stared.
“What other night?””
Dr. Hale looked at the emergency exit door.
Then back at him.
“The night you saw what your father did.””
Marcus frowned.
“I never saw anything.””
The doctor said nothing.
Marcus felt a sudden pressure behind his eyes.
A strange image flashed.
A hospital hallway.
A child's crying.
His father's voice.
A locked door.
He grabbed the wall.
Vanessa moved toward him.
“Marcus?””
He closed his eyes.
“I…”
Another image.
A small hand.
A woman crying.
A man saying:
*You will forget this.*
Marcus opened his eyes.
“What did he do to me?””
Dr. Hale looked at him.
“Your father erased the memory.””
Nobody spoke.
Then Zoe's voice came from behind them.
“Daddy?””
Marcus turned.
Grace stood there holding Zoe's hand.
Zoe looked frightened.
She looked at Dr. Hale.
Then whispered:
“I know him.””
Marcus froze.
“What?””
Zoe pointed at the doctor.
“He was there.””
Dr. Hale's face changed.
“That's impossible.””
Zoe stepped closer.
“He gave Grandpa the medicine.””
Marcus stared.
“What medicine?””
Zoe hugged her rabbit tighter.
“The one that made Daddy forget.””
The entire hallway went silent.
Dr. Hale took one step backward.
For the first time that night…
He looked afraid.
Marcus looked at him.
“You remember.””
The doctor said nothing.
Marcus's voice became colder.
“My daughter remembers.””
The folder slipped slightly from Dr. Hale's hand.
And as it fell open, one final page became visible.
A photograph.
A young Marcus.
Holding newborn Zoe.
And standing behind him…
Was Victor Cole.
May you like
Smiling.
With a syringe in his hand.
