Chapter 14 - the boy who came home)
Jonathan replayed the sentence again and again.
A boy came home.
By afternoon, Ethan was transferred back to Ashcroft Manor under medical supervision.
He hated hospitals.
He hated police.
And he especially hated the way everyone looked at him after Maya told Jonathan what Anna had said.
Ethan sat in the library wearing sweatpants and a clean gray shirt.
"So we're considering the possibility that I'm not me."
Jonathan stood near the window.
"No one said that."
"You've been staring at me for ten minutes."
"I'm worried."
"You've been worried since 1998."
Maya almost laughed.
Jonathan did not.
Vivienne sat near the fireplace.
"Ethan, your mother took you somewhere when you were six."
"I don't remember."
"Do you remember Canada?"
"No."
"Geneva?"
"No."
"Anna Reed?"
Ethan looked at Maya.
"Her mother?"
"Yes."
He shook his head.
Maya took out the old photograph.
She handed it to him.
Young Ethan stood between Catherine and Anna.
Ethan stared.
"I've seen this."
Jonathan moved closer.
"Where?"
"In dreams."
Maya's pulse quickened.
"What happens in the dream?"
Ethan frowned.
"There's a train."
"Anything else?"
"Glass."
Vivienne looked up.
"What kind?"
"A room made of glass."
Maya exchanged a look with Jonathan.
Ethan rubbed his forehead.
"And a woman singing."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"Your mother?"
"No."
"Anna?"
"No."
Vivienne asked, "Evelyn?"
Ethan looked at her.
His face changed.
"Maybe."
Jonathan sat beside him.
"Ethan, look at me."
He did.
"Whatever happened when you were six does not change who you are."
Ethan smiled faintly.
"That's comforting coming from a man currently wondering whether I'm his son."
Jonathan's eyes filled.
"I am not wondering that."
"Then what are you wondering?"
Jonathan took his hand.
"Who hurt you."
Silence.
Ethan looked away.
Maya noticed something inside the photograph.
A reflection.
Behind Anna stood a mirror.
In it, another child was visible.
A boy.
Same height as Ethan.
Same brown hair.
She brought the photograph closer.
"Jonathan."
He looked.
Maya pointed.
"There are two boys."
Everyone froze.
Ethan stood.
"What?"
Maya placed the photograph on the table.
The second child was partly obscured.
But unmistakable.
Jonathan stared.
"Who is that?"
Vivienne's face changed.
She knew.
Jonathan looked at her.
"Mother."
Vivienne shook her head.
"No."
"Who?"
She stood.
"No."
Jonathan blocked her.
"You know."
Vivienne closed her eyes.
Then whispered, "Catherine was pregnant twice."
Jonathan frowned.
"What?"
"The first pregnancy ended before you were told."
"She miscarried."
"That is what Mercer told you."
Jonathan stepped backward.
"No."
Vivienne continued.
"The child was born premature."
Jonathan stared.
"A boy?"
"Yes."
"What happened to him?"
Vivienne looked at Ethan.
"I was told he died."
Ethan slowly sat down.
Maya understood.
"Catherine had twins."
Vivienne shook her head.
"Not twins."
Jonathan stared.
"Then how can they be the same age?"
Vivienne looked at the photograph.
"Because Catherine's first son was born eleven months before Ethan."
Jonathan's face went pale.
"You told me she miscarried."
"Arthur told me."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
Maya examined the photograph.
Two boys.
One official.
One hidden.
Ethan whispered, "What's his name?"
Vivienne's voice barely carried.
"Gabriel."
The library doors opened.
Curtis entered carrying a sealed evidence envelope.
He looked shaken.
"What now?" Jonathan asked.
Curtis placed the envelope on the table.
"DNA results from Ethan's blood were rushed because of the investigation."
Jonathan frowned.
"And?"
Curtis looked at him.
"The hospital compared Ethan's sample with a sample taken from your medical records."
Ethan stopped breathing.
Jonathan's face hardened.
"Say it."
Curtis did.
"Ethan is your biological son."
Jonathan closed his eyes.
Relief flooded his face.
Ethan laughed once.
"Good. One crisis down."
Curtis did not smile.
"There's more."
Maya felt the tension return.
"The database found an immediate familial match."
Jonathan looked at him.
"Who?"
Curtis swallowed.
"Another living male."
Ethan stared.
"My brother?"
Curtis nodded.
"Apparently."
Vivienne gripped the table.
"Where?"
Curtis looked at the report.
"The last sample was entered into a private medical database three weeks ago."
Jonathan asked, "Location?"
Curtis met his eyes.
"Geneva."
Maya thought of Anna.
Of Catherine.
Of Halcyon.
Of Gabriel.
Jonathan whispered, "He's alive."
Curtis nodded.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed almost immediately.
"What do you mean missing?"
Everyone stared.
Curtis listened.
Then looked at Maya.
"Anna's Halcyon file."
"What about it?"
"The federal team just checked the server."
"And?"
"It was altered ten minutes ago."
Maya felt cold.
"What changed?"
Curtis lowered the phone.
"Her status."
Maya whispered, "From active to what?"
May you like
Curtis looked at her.
"En route."
