Chapter 9 - The Correction
Margaret finally told the truth.
Or at least part of it.
Thomas Hayes had created what he called the Continuity Program during the 1970s.
Several wealthy families in the region had no biological heirs.
Thomas arranged private adoptions.
At first, they were legal.
Then the families became particular.
They wanted boys.
Specific medical histories.
Specific backgrounds.
Children young enough to be raised without knowing where they came from.
Thomas built a network.
Doctors.
Attorneys.
Records clerks.
Private nurses.
Families paid into trusts that financed the arrangement.
The Hayes Family Preservation Trust was not merely an inheritance vehicle.
It was the financial shell that kept the entire system hidden.
Emma listened in horror.
“And Daniel?”
Margaret stared through the interrogation-room window.
“My father selected him.”
“For you.”
“Yes.”
“Because your son died.”
“Yes.”
“Then why the obsession with my baby being a boy?”
Margaret looked at her.
“Because when Daniel refused to participate, the trustees classified your pregnancy as a succession failure.”
Emma nearly laughed from disbelief.
“What trustees?”
“I don’t know all of them.”
“You control the trust.”
“On paper.”
“Who controls it in reality?”
Margaret whispered, “A board.”
Cole said, “Names.”
Margaret listed three.
Dr. Samuel Wren.
Attorney Henry Black.
Judge Lawrence Mercer.
Cole’s expression darkened.
All three were respected.
Wren had delivered hundreds of babies.
Black handled major estates.
Mercer had sat on the county bench for twenty-two years.
Emma stared.
“You’re telling me a judge is part of a baby trafficking operation?”
Margaret shook her head.
“They would never call it trafficking.”
“What would they call it?”
“Continuity.”
Emma wanted to vomit.
Margaret continued.
“When Daniel discovered the trust, they assumed he would cooperate.”
“What did they want?”
“His signature.”
“For?”
“To appoint a successor.”
Emma’s eyes narrowed.
“Ethan Hayes.”
Margaret nodded.
Emma understood.
There was no Ethan.
Not yet.
“They planned to replace Sophia.”
Margaret closed her eyes.
“With a male infant.”
The room seemed to tilt.
Emma gripped the table.
“They were going to take my daughter?”
“Yes.”
“And give me another baby?”
“No.”
Emma stared.
Margaret’s voice became almost inaudible.
“They were going to tell Daniel that Sophia died.”
Emma stood so quickly the chair fell backward.
Cole stepped toward her.
Margaret kept speaking.
“They would tell you there were complications. You would be sedated.”
Emma screamed.
“You knew!”
“I tried to stop them!”
“You bought clothes with his name!”
“Because I wanted them to believe I was cooperating!”
Emma moved toward her.
Cole blocked her gently.
Margaret cried.
“I needed access. I needed to know when they planned it.”
“Then why didn’t you tell us?”
“Because Daniel found out before I could.”
Emma’s breathing came fast.
“What happened to him?”
Margaret shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
“Liar.”
“I swear.”
“Rachel Wynn?”
Margaret looked away.
Emma slammed her palm against the table.
“Rachel!”
“They chose her.”
“For what?”
“If Daniel left you, Rachel could become the replacement spouse.”
Emma stared.
Secondary candidate approved.
“She refused,” Margaret whispered.
“What happened?”
“She disappeared.”
“When?”
“Five days ago.”
Two days before Daniel.
Cole’s phone vibrated.
He checked the message.
Then looked at Emma.
“We found Rachel’s vehicle.”
“Where?”
“Near the river.”
“Is she inside?”
“No.”
He paused.
“But there’s a hospital bracelet.”
Emma swallowed.
“What does it say?”
Cole looked at Margaret.
May you like
Then at Emma.
“Baby Hayes.”
