Chapter 11 - The Detective’s Old Badge
Celia was taken to a secure hospital under police guard.
Ryan refused to leave her side until doctors confirmed she would survive the night.
Maya stayed with Oliver in another room.
Jonah disappeared for three hours.
When he returned, Maya was waiting in the corridor.
“Who did you work for?”
He stopped.
“Police.”
“Before that.”
Jonah looked through the window at Oliver.
“Who told you to ask?”
“Celia.”
“Celia has been isolated for years.”
“She knew you.”
Jonah lowered his voice.
“This is not the place.”
“That is what everyone says before they hide something.”
Ryan approached from the opposite end of the corridor.
“What’s going on?”
Maya repeated Celia’s warning.
Ryan looked at Jonah.
“Answer her.”
Jonah glanced at the guard near the elevator.
Then he led them into an empty consultation room and closed the door.
“Before joining the police, I worked as an investigator for the Arden Biomedical Trust.”
Ryan knew the name.
The trust funded rare disease research, private hospitals, and university laboratories across the country.
It had also funded the facility where Celia was imprisoned.
“You worked for them?” Ryan asked.
“For eight months.”
“What did you investigate?”
“Internal theft.”
Maya crossed her arms.
“Children?”
Jonah’s face tightened.
“I didn’t know about the embryo program at first.”
“At first?”
“I found irregular birth records. Infants admitted without names. Genetic samples collected without parental consent. Adoption records redirected through private courts.”
“And you stayed?”
“I gathered evidence.”
“Did you report it?”
“Yes.”
“To whom?”
“My supervisor at the trust.”
Maya laughed without humor.
“You reported the criminal operation to the people running it.”
“I was twenty-six and naive.”
“What happened?”
“The evidence disappeared. Two witnesses died. Anna Vale vanished. I joined the police because I thought a badge would give me protection.”
Ryan stepped closer.
“Did you know Oliver was involved?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Celia said Oliver carries a legal identity.”
Jonah sat down.
“The founder of the Arden Trust, Elias Arden, had no acknowledged children. His will transferred control of the trust to a biological descendant if one could be verified before the trust’s fiftieth anniversary.”
“When is that?” Maya asked.
“Six weeks from now.”
Ryan stared at him.
“You think Oliver is an Arden descendant.”
“I think someone believes he is.”
“Why would my father be involved?”
“Your father served on the trust’s medical board.”
Ryan shook his head.
“He owned a construction company.”
“That was public. Privately, he managed Arden properties and research sites.”
Maya remembered Evelyn’s words.
Your father funded an embryo program.
“Did Ryan’s father create Oliver?”
Jonah looked at Ryan.
“He may have helped create the genetic line Oliver came from.”
Silence filled the room.
Ryan paced toward the window.
“My entire childhood was a lie.”
Jonah continued.
“Evelyn may have been trying to gain custody of Oliver so she could present him as the legal heir.”
“For money?”
“For control of an international medical network worth billions.”
Maya thought of Evelyn poisoning her grandson.
“She would kill him before letting anyone else control him.”
Jonah nodded.
“That is why we need protective custody.”
“No.”
“Maya.”
“No one takes Oliver.”
“Protective custody can include both parents.”
“Can it include my mother-in-law’s forged records claiming I’m psychotic?”
Jonah did not answer.
Maya understood.
“They’ve already entered the system.”
“We can challenge them.”
“How long?”
“Days.”
“And during those days?”
“A judge decides placement.”
Ryan’s face hardened.
“My mother prepared this.”
“She prepared everything,” Maya said.
A nurse entered.
“Mr. Mercer, your sister is awake.”
They returned to Celia’s room.
She looked stronger, though the oxygen tube remained beneath her nose.
Ryan sat beside her.
“Tell me about Oliver.”
Celia watched Jonah standing near the door.
“Not while he’s here.”
Jonah nodded and left.
Celia waited until the door closed.
Then she whispered, “Jonah did not leave the Arden Trust.”
Maya looked toward the hallway.
May you like
“What do you mean?”
“He still works for them.”
