Chapter 8 - The Twins Born Under Guard
Amelia went into labor three weeks early.
It happened inside a military safe house while she was reviewing evidence recovered from Marcus’s devices.
A sharp pain crossed her abdomen.
She stopped reading.
General Grant noticed immediately.
“What is it?”
“Nothing.”
A second contraction forced her to grip the table.
Grant stood.
“That does not look like nothing.”
“My water hasn’t broken.”
“Is that the standard?”
“It is one of them.”
Another contraction came less than two minutes later.
Grant called the medical team.
Amelia objected until the pain took away her ability to form a convincing argument.
Within twenty minutes, she was transported to a secured military hospital.
Armed guards closed the floor.
Every nurse was screened.
Every entrance was monitored.
Elias remained in custody in another section of the compound. Marcus was recovering from surgery under federal supervision. Helen and Robert had been placed in protective detention after investigators discovered old Blackridge records hidden beneath the mansion library.
Amelia had spoken to none of them.
For eight hours, she focused only on bringing her children safely into the world.
The first baby was a girl.
She arrived crying loudly, with dark hair and tightly closed fists.
Amelia named her Grace.
The second baby was a boy.
He remained silent for three terrifying seconds before releasing a small, angry cry.
Amelia named him Ethan.
When the nurses placed both children against her chest, the world narrowed.
The investigation disappeared.
Marcus disappeared.
Her father’s impossible return disappeared.
There was only warmth, breath, and the fragile weight of two lives depending entirely on her.
General Grant stood outside the room with tears in his eyes.
He entered only after Amelia invited him.
“They’re beautiful,” he said.
“They’re loud.”
“That is generally considered a positive sign.”
He looked at Grace.
“She has your expression.”
“She is ten minutes old.”
“She already looks suspicious of me.”
“She has good instincts.”
For a few moments, Amelia felt almost peaceful.
Then Grant placed a sealed report on the table.
“We tested the phrase Marcus found.”
“The first key would return with two heirs.”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“It appears in a Blackridge succession document.”
Amelia looked at her sleeping children.
“What succession?”
“The Orion ledger was divided into three access layers. The first required Elias’s biometric authorization. The second required yours.”
“And the third?”
Grant hesitated.
“A genetic key from two direct descendants born during the same lunar cycle.”
Amelia stared at him.
“My twins.”
“Possibly.”
“That was written twenty-two years ago.”
“Yes.”
“How could anyone know I would have twins?”
“We don’t believe they did.”
“Then why specify two descendants?”
“The system was designed around redundancy. Two genetic matches from the same bloodline reduce the chance of forced access using a single hostage.”
“So Olivia needs both babies.”
Grant did not answer.
Amelia held them closer.
“She will never touch them.”
“No.”
“Marcus cannot be allowed near them.”
Grant looked surprised.
“He is their father.”
“He gave Olivia access to my identity.”
“He also helped us capture her.”
“You did not capture her.”
“No.”
Amelia looked toward the window.
Rain touched the reinforced glass.
“Has he asked about the twins?”
“Every day.”
“Has he asked about me?”
Grant took too long to answer.
“That is what I thought.”
“He is facing charges, Amelia. His attorney may have instructed him to limit personal communication.”
“Marcus has never allowed legal advice to interrupt his selfishness.”
Grant almost smiled.
Then the hospital lights flickered.
The room went dark for one second.
Emergency power activated.
Amelia sat upright.
“Take the babies.”
Grant reached for Grace’s bassinet.
The door opened.
A nurse entered carrying a medication tray.
Amelia had not seen her before.
“Stop,” Amelia said.
The nurse froze.
Grant drew his weapon.
“Identify yourself.”
The nurse dropped the tray and ran.
Grant pursued her into the hallway.
Amelia activated the emergency lock.
She placed both babies in one bassinet and pushed it behind the bed.
A ventilation panel above the bathroom shifted.
Amelia saw the shadow.
She seized the metal IV pole as a man dropped into the room.
He carried no firearm.
Only a syringe.
He moved toward the bassinet.
Amelia struck him across the face.
He staggered, surprised by her strength so soon after labor.
She struck again.
He caught the pole and pulled her forward.
Pain tore through her body, but she refused to release it.
The man reached for her throat.
Amelia drove her thumb into the wound beneath his jaw where an old surgical scar had weakened the tissue.
He collapsed.
The door burst open.
Grant returned with soldiers.
The false nurse had escaped through a service stairwell.
The attacker on the floor was unconscious.
A tattoo marked his wrist.
A silver wolf inside a complete circle.
Not broken.
Elias had worn the broken version.
Amelia looked at Grant.
“What does the complete symbol mean?”
His face went pale.
“Original command.”
“Whose command?”
Grant ordered the soldiers to remove the attacker.
Then he closed the door.
“The Silver Wolf unit existed before your father joined it. Its first commander created the Orion program.”
“Who was the commander?”
Grant looked toward the sleeping twins.
“Your grandfather.”
Amelia’s father had rarely spoken about his parents. He said they died before Amelia was born.
Another lie.
“Is he alive?”
“No confirmed record exists after 1989.”
“That is not an answer.”
“It is the only one I have.”
The unconscious attacker suddenly convulsed in the hallway.
A monitor alarm sounded.
Medics rushed toward him.
Within seconds, he was dead.
Poison capsule.
Grant searched the body.
Inside the attacker’s jacket, he found a photograph.
It showed Amelia holding Grace and Ethan.
The picture had been taken less than ten minutes earlier.
May you like
On the back were four words.
WELCOME BACK, LITTLE HEIRS.
