Chapter 8 - THE OTHER MOTHER
I couldn't move.
The woman stared at me.
She was older than the photograph.
But the eyes were unmistakable.
The same eyes I had seen in my own face every morning for twenty-one years.
"You."
She nodded.
"My name is Elena."
Detective Brooks appeared with a flashlight.
"Sarah, step away from her."
Elena raised her hands.
"I'm not armed."
My mother cried from across the room.
"Don't listen to her."
Elena looked at her.
"You kept her from me."
"I protected her."
"You lied to her."
"I kept her alive."
Their voices overlapped.
I couldn't understand.
Then Michael stepped between them.
"Stop."
Everyone went silent.
Michael looked at me.
"Your mother was part of the original program."
I looked at Elena.
"Is that true?"
She nodded.
"I was one of the patients."
"And my mother?"
"She was your guardian."
My entire childhood suddenly felt like a carefully constructed story.
"Who was my father?"
Elena looked away.
"We don't know."
"You're lying."
"No."
She reached into her coat.
She pulled out a photograph.
A young man.
Standing beside Daniel Carter.
I recognized him.
Michael did too.
His face went pale.
"That's impossible."
Elena looked at him.
"Your father knew him."
"Who is he?"
Michael whispered the name.
"Thomas Reed."
Detective Brooks immediately reacted.
"That name is in the files."
I looked between them.
"What does he have to do with me?"
Elena answered.
"He helped create the compound."
The room went silent.
"The compound in the ink?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because the compound can reveal a biological marker."
"Mine."
She nodded.
"But your baby has it too."
I touched my stomach.
The baby moved.
My eyes filled with tears.
"What does that mean?"
Elena looked at Detective Brooks.
"It means the Carter family never stopped the program."
Michael closed his eyes.
"I tried to stop them."
I turned toward him.
"By torturing me?"
"I was trying to confirm your identity."
"You could have asked."
"They would have killed me."
"Who?"
Before he could answer, a phone rang.
Everyone froze.
Detective Brooks answered.
A voice spoke.
"Release Michael."
She looked at me.
The voice continued.
"Or the hospital loses power."
Detective Brooks frowned.
"What hospital?"
"The maternity hospital."
My blood turned cold.
I was supposed to deliver there.
The caller knew.
The voice continued.
"Sarah Miller will arrive there tomorrow."
The line disconnected.
Detective Brooks immediately called her team.
Michael looked at me.
"They're coming for the baby."
I shook my head.
"No."
He looked at me.
"Sarah."
"No."
I stepped backward.
"They are not taking my child."
May you like
And for the first time, Michael and I wanted exactly the same thing.
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