Chapter 13 - The Choice Daniel Never Expected
Claire watched Daniel on the screen.
His face was bruised.
Blood ran from one corner of his mouth.
The masked figure pressed the blade closer.
Adrian’s voice filled the warehouse.
“Your husband has made many mistakes. But he remains Lily’s legal father.”
Claire held her daughter against her chest.
“You think I will trade her for him?”
“No. I think you will hesitate.”
He was right.
Not because Claire still loved Daniel.
Not because she forgave him.
She hesitated because refusing would mean watching a person die.
Adrian counted on that boundary.
Mara stood beside the medical transport truck, working on the rear lock.
“We cannot help him from here.”
Claire looked at the screens.
“Daniel, can you hear me?”
He nodded.
“Tell me where you are.”
“The old house.”
The masked figure struck him.
Adrian said, “No more questions.”
Claire studied the video.
The blue room appeared correct.
Dark walls.
Old desk.
Open floorboards.
But something was wrong.
The windows.
The real blue room faced west. Rain should have struck the glass from the left according to the storm direction.
In the video, rain moved in the opposite direction.
The room was a replica.
Daniel was not at the house.
Claire looked at the truck.
The containment compartments.
The old Bennett vehicle.
A thought formed.
“Distribution Center Three,” she said.
Adrian went silent.
Daniel’s eyes widened.
Claire continued.
“You built the blue room inside Distribution Center Three.”
The image flickered.
Adrian had not expected her to identify it.
Distribution Center Three had once contained film sets used for training videos. Entire hospital rooms and offices could be recreated inside.
It also sat less than five miles away.
Claire accessed the inactive facility network.
A weak signal responded.
She sent a Covenant lockdown command.
On the video, red lights began flashing.
Daniel turned toward the ceiling.
Claire smiled coldly.
“Found you.”
The screens went black.
Mara finally opened the truck.
Inside the first compartment lay a teenage boy wearing a hospital gown.
The others held four adults and two children.
All were unconscious but breathing.
Claire recognized one of the adults.
Eleanor Hale.
Nathan’s sister.
She appeared older, but the resemblance was unmistakable.
Mara checked her pulse.
“Alive.”
Eleanor’s eyes opened.
She grabbed Mara’s wrist with surprising strength.
“The baby,” she whispered.
Claire moved closer.
“What about her?”
Eleanor stared at Lily.
“They changed the embryo.”
Claire froze.
“What?”
“Your daughter is not Daniel’s.”
Mara looked at Claire.
Eleanor struggled to speak.
“The fertility clinic belonged to Northstar. Daniel was never the intended father.”
Claire remembered the prenatal records.
The carefully managed appointments.
The doctor who resigned unexpectedly halfway through the pregnancy.
“Whose child is she?”
Eleanor’s eyes moved toward the upper walkway.
A man stepped from the shadows.
Jonah Reed.
He held a weapon against Nathan Hale’s back.
Nathan’s hands were raised.
Claire stared.
“Jonah?”
Jonah’s face was empty.
“Give me the drive Nathan gave you.”
Claire tightened her grip on Lily.
“You attacked the safe house.”
“I removed you from Nathan’s control.”
“You shot his guard.”
“The guard worked for Adrian.”
Nathan spoke.
“He is lying.”
Jonah pressed the gun harder against him.
“Where is the drive?”
Claire looked at Eleanor.
The woman inside the truck began shaking her head.
“Do not give it to him.”
Jonah’s jaw tightened.
“Eleanor was Northstar’s architect.”
Eleanor whispered, “And Jonah was its first director.”
Claire felt the final pieces of trust collapse.
Jonah had not merely discovered Northstar.
He had built it.
Mara raised her weapon.
“Let Nathan go.”
Jonah ignored her.
“Claire, Adrian is moving toward Distribution Center Three. Daniel has less than twenty minutes.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“Because Adrian wants Daniel dead before he can testify.”
Claire looked at Nathan.
“Is that true?”
Nathan nodded.
“Probably.”
“Probably?”
“We do not know what Daniel told them.”
Jonah extended his free hand.
“The drive.”
Claire reached into her coat.
Instead of the drive, she removed the silver key Mara had shown her.
She tossed it across the floor.
Jonah’s eyes followed it.
Mara fired.
The bullet struck Jonah’s shoulder.
Nathan twisted away and tackled him.
Claire activated the warehouse barrier between them.
Steel dropped from the ceiling, separating Jonah from the others.
He pounded on the metal.
“You have no idea what you just did!”
Claire turned to Mara.
“Get the people out of the truck.”
Then she looked at Nathan.
“We are going to Distribution Center Three.”
Nathan held his injured arm.
“To save Daniel?”
May you like
Claire’s expression became hard.
“To make sure he lives long enough to tell me who Lily’s biological father is.”
