Chapter 13 - THE EMPTY DADDY
D-3 contacted Claire the next morning.
The call came through the phone hidden in Room 317.
His voice was identical to Daniel’s, but now Claire could hear the difference.
Daniel’s speech carried hesitation when he was frightened.
D-3 sounded calm in every circumstance.
“You frightened Rose,” he said.
“You kidnapped her.”
“I raised her.”
“You helped take her from me.”
“I followed the program.”
“Where is Daniel?”
“D-4 is unstable.”
“Is he alive?”
“For now.”
Claire motioned for Ortiz to continue tracing the call.
“What do you want?”
“The child you carry.”
Claire placed a hand over her stomach.
“No.”
“The fetus is not safe inside you.”
“The poison was harming it.”
“The compound prevented rejection.”
“My blood flow improved after it stopped.”
“For a time.”
Dr. Patel wrote a message on a notepad.
KEEP HIM TALKING.
Claire said, “Why did Evelyn say the baby wasn’t supposed to survive?”
“Because F-05 exceeded the predicted resistance threshold.”
“What happens when it is born?”
“The child will be able to retrieve inherited memory patterns.”
Claire looked at Dr. Bell.
He shook his head, indicating the claim was scientifically uncertain.
“What does that mean?” Claire asked.
“Amelia encoded information through molecular triggers.”
“You cannot inherit memories.”
“Not memories as you understand them. Responses. Images. Access sequences.”
“To what?”
“The ledger.”
Claire remembered the three-part location.
“You need my baby to find your records.”
“We need the child to complete what Amelia began.”
“You work for Vale.”
A pause.
“Vale is no longer in control.”
“Who is?”
D-3 did not answer.
Claire changed direction.
“Rose said you have no scar.”
“She is observant.”
“That is how I know you are not my husband.”
“I was your husband before D-4.”
Claire’s skin went cold.
“What?”
“The chapel recording shows our marriage.”
“You held me down.”
“D-4 interrupted your conditioning. I completed it.”
“Then years later D-4 married me?”
“Yes.”
“Why did Evelyn allow that?”
“He proved useful. Your emotional attachment stabilized the pregnancy attempts.”
Claire felt sick.
“Where is Rose?”
“She wants to see you.”
“Let her go.”
“Come to Lake Ardon.”
Ortiz wrote NO.
“Where at Lake Ardon?”
“The first Bellwether house.”
“When?”
“Tonight.”
“I won’t come alone.”
“You may bring Dr. Patel.”
“Why her?”
“The baby may need to be delivered.”
The line went silent.
Ortiz traced the call to three locations simultaneously.
One was Lake Ardon.
One was an industrial district in the city.
The third was inside the hospital.
Security began searching immediately.
A nurse found a transmitter taped beneath Claire’s bed.
D-3 had been listening for days.
Ortiz wanted to move Claire to another location.
Claire refused.
“Every move gives them another opportunity.”
“Going to the lake is not an option.”
“My daughter is there.”
“Or he wants you to believe she is.”
Claire held up the lily necklace recovered from the school.
“She was real enough to leave this.”
Dr. Patel spoke quietly.
“If Claire goes into labor unexpectedly, she needs a medical team.”
Ortiz looked between them.
“You are not encouraging this.”
“I am explaining the risk.”
Claire met Ortiz’s eyes.
“He asked me to bring Dr. Patel because he wants control over the birth. That means the lake matters.”
Ortiz eventually approved a covert operation.
Claire would not actually enter the property. Police would use her presence nearby to draw D-3 out.
At dusk, they traveled north in an armored medical vehicle.
Lake Ardon appeared beyond the trees, dark and still beneath gathering clouds.
The Bellwether house stood on a private peninsula.
From the road, it looked abandoned.
Thermal cameras showed at least seven people inside.
One was small enough to be a child.
Another lay motionless in a basement room.
Claire stared at the image.
“Daniel.”
Ortiz gave orders to the tactical units.
Before they moved, every light in the house turned on.
A speaker near the gate activated.
D-3’s voice filled the air.
“Claire, police entered St. Orison because we allowed it.”
Ortiz signaled the teams to hold.
“You found Room 317 because Rose was instructed to guide you.”
Claire stepped out of the vehicle despite Dr. Patel’s protest.
“Why?”
“To restore the memories Vale removed.”
Lightning flashed over the lake.
“You said Vale isn’t in control.”
“He has not been for sixteen years.”
“Then who is?”
The front door opened.
A woman stepped onto the porch.
White hair moved around her face in the wind.
Claire forgot how to breathe.
Amelia Rowe looked across the distance at her daughter.
May you like
Then she raised one hand.
A serpent ring encircled her finger.
