Chapter 13 - A Home With Three Empty Rooms
Margaret Shaw was arrested along with Owen Pike and fourteen members of the Briar House security team.
The public story broke within hours.
Harrison Foundation Executives Accused of Illegal Child Experiments.
Federal investigators seized properties in six states. Medical licenses were suspended. Former employees came forward. Families began searching for children they had been told were dead.
The rescued subjects who requested contact were placed with independent advocates rather than foundation-controlled agencies.
Richard paid for their care but refused authority over their cases.
It was the first financial decision in his adult life that purchased no influence.
Three weeks later, Ethan returned to the Harrison estate.
Lucy came with him under temporary protective placement.
Daniel was given a room in a separate secure cottage because crowded spaces and unfamiliar memories triggered violent panic. He visited Lucy every day.
Sometimes he recognized her.
Sometimes he called her Subject Seven.
Lucy never corrected him with anger.
She simply repeated, “My name is Lucy, and you once chose to be my brother.”
Rosa remained with them. Evelyn entered a federal witness program after surrendering research records stored outside Briar House.
Victoria’s legal status became more complicated.
Four years earlier, Margaret had hidden her in a private rehabilitation facility after the fire. Victoria’s burns and neurological injuries required repeated surgeries. Parts of her autobiographical memory had been copied, altered, and reintroduced through the Subject Zero implant.
Doctors could not determine how much of her identity remained original.
Richard visited her in a guarded hospital room.
She sat beside the window, looking at snow.
“Ethan asked whether you are coming home,” he said.
Victoria closed her eyes.
“What did you tell him?”
“That home is not a place we can pretend nothing happened.”
“Does he hate me?”
“No.”
“That would be easier.”
“For you, perhaps.”
Victoria accepted the judgment.
“What about Lucy?”
“She decides when she sees you.”
“I am her mother.”
“You were part of the program that stole her childhood.”
Victoria looked at him.
“And you are her father who never knew she existed.”
“I’m not asking her to forgive my ignorance.”
“You’re punishing me.”
“I’m protecting her right to choose.”
Victoria turned back to the window.
“You’ve changed.”
“So have you.”
They sat in silence.
Before Richard left, Victoria said, “Margaret was telling the truth about one thing.”
“What?”
“The children were training data.”
“For what?”
“She wanted to copy an adult mind into a younger host.”
Richard felt cold.
“Did it work?”
“Not while I was at the institute.”
“And after?”
Victoria looked toward the camera in the corner of the room.
“I don’t know who is listening.”
That evening, Richard found Lucy sitting on the kitchen floor eating crackers.
The table above her held a full dinner.
“Why are you down there?” he asked.
“At Nightingale, eating under tables meant no one could take your food.”
Richard sat on the floor opposite her.
“This house has a rule.”
Lucy became cautious.
“What rule?”
“No one takes food from children.”
“That’s not a real rule.”
“It is now.”
He placed a bowl of soup between them.
Lucy examined it.
“Do I have to call you Dad?”
“No.”
“Do I have to stay?”
“No.”
“Do you want me to?”
“Yes.”
She ate a spoonful of soup.
After a while she asked, “Did Victoria really carry me?”
“No. Another woman named Elena Marquez did.”
“My real mother.”
“One of your mothers.”
Lucy frowned.
“That sounds complicated.”
“It is.”
“Is Elena alive?”
Richard had investigators searching every available record.
“We don’t know yet.”
Lucy nodded as though she expected disappointment.
Then Richard’s phone rang.
The investigator’s voice was urgent.
“We found Elena Marquez.”
Richard stood.
“Where?”
“Boston.”
“Is she alive?”
A pause.
“Yes, but there is a problem.”
“What problem?”
“She has been employed at your estate for six years.”
Richard looked around the kitchen.
Beyond the glass doors, a woman from the housekeeping staff crossed the hallway.
She stopped when she saw Lucy.
The tray in her hands began to shake.
Lucy dropped her spoon.
May you like
The woman whispered one word.
“Lucía.”
