Chapter 14 - THE SISTER WHO REMEMBERED HER
The ambulance smelled of blood and medical supplies.
Evelyn drove.
Claire treated Nathan's wound.
Malcolm sat beside his brother.
Ryan sat opposite Claire.
Neither spoke.
Ava watched Evelyn through the rearview mirror.
Her sister.
The word felt unnatural.
Yet something about Evelyn's face felt familiar in a way Ava couldn't explain.
They escaped through industrial roads while Thomas directed a separate vehicle carrying Eleanor and Helen.
After twenty minutes, the city lights fell behind them.
Ava finally spoke.
"Where are we going?"
"Colorado Springs."
"Why?"
"Because Denver is compromised."
"Who are you?"
Evelyn glanced at her.
"You already know."
"No. I know your name."
Evelyn sighed.
"Fair."
They reached an abandoned veterinary research facility before dawn.
Inside, Claire stabilized Nathan.
The bullet had passed through without striking his heart.
"He's lucky," Claire said.
Malcolm looked at her.
"No one in this family is lucky."
Claire ignored him.
Ryan finally approached.
"Can we talk?"
Claire's eyes filled with tears.
"Not yet."
Ryan nodded.
"Okay."
That simple answer seemed to hurt her more than anger would have.
Ava found Evelyn alone in an office.
Her sister placed a metal case on the desk.
"You want answers."
"That's becoming an understatement."
Evelyn sat.
"Thomas told you about Rebecca?"
"Yes."
"Our mother."
"Genetic mother."
Evelyn smiled sadly.
"You were always precise."
"You knew me?"
"I watched you grow up."
Ava stared.
"Everyone watched me grow up."
"I wasn't assigned."
"That supposed to make it comforting?"
"No."
Evelyn opened a wallet.
Inside was a photograph of Ava at age six on a playground.
Another at twelve.
Graduation.
College.
Ava's wedding.
"You were there?"
"Sometimes."
"Why didn't you meet me?"
"Because Northstar believed I was dead for most of those years."
"So did Dad."
"Thomas found me sixteen years ago."
"He said that."
"He wanted to bring me home."
Ava's anger softened slightly.
"What stopped him?"
"Me."
"Why?"
"Because I had learned what Northstar did to families. Anyone close to me became leverage."
Ava thought of Marianne.
"That worked out well."
Evelyn accepted the criticism.
"No."
Ava pointed toward the metal case.
"Is that the archive?"
"Part of it."
"Embryos?"
Evelyn's face hardened.
"Eleanor told you."
"Yes."
"She's simplifying."
"Then explain."
Evelyn unlocked the case.
Inside were storage modules.
"These don't contain embryos themselves. They contain location keys, genetic identification maps, consent records, and chain-of-custody data."
"Where are the embryos?"
"Multiple cryogenic sites."
"How many?"
"Approximately nine thousand viable samples."
Ava felt sick.
"Nine thousand."
"Not all embryos. Some ova, sperm, stem lines."
"From people who consented?"
"Some."
"And the rest?"
Evelyn's silence answered.
Ava sat.
"We destroy it."
Evelyn shook her head.
"No."
Ava looked up.
"Why not?"
"Because some of those samples are the only evidence of crimes. Some belong to people who are searching for their biological children. Some may be needed to identify stolen children."
"Then we preserve records and destroy unauthorized biological material."
"It's not that simple."
"It should be."
Evelyn studied her.
"That's why Samuel chose you."
Ava laughed bitterly.
"I didn't ask to be chosen."
"Neither did I."
A silence formed.
Then Ava asked:
"Why did Malcolm stage the hospital exposure?"
Evelyn looked toward the hall.
"Because he discovered Eleanor planned to harvest your tissue at the board meeting."
"He told me that."
"He needed you angry enough to investigate without trusting him."
"He could have told me."
"You wouldn't believe him."
"He never gave me the chance."
"No."
Evelyn's expression sharpened.
"Don't mistake explanation for forgiveness."
Ava looked at her sister.
That sentence felt like family.
"What about Claire?"
"She discovered Malcolm's files. Eleanor arranged the hospital scene to compromise everyone."
"Why put Claire beside the duplicate?"
"To make Ryan vulnerable."
"Because Ryan is a secondary key."
"Yes."
"Did Claire know?"
"No."
Ava exhaled.
"Where's Adrian?"
Evelyn's expression changed.
"You saw him."
"At Union Station."
"He wasn't supposed to reveal himself."
"Why?"
"Because he's infiltrated the board."
Ava stared.
"Adrian works for Northstar?"
"He works inside Northstar."
"Difference?"
"Depends who wins."
Ava stood.
"I want every remaining truth now."
Evelyn looked at her.
"You won't get it."
"Why?"
"Because some truths aren't mine."
Ava's temper rose.
Evelyn raised a hand.
"But I'll give you one."
She took out a file.
Ava opened it.
Malcolm's medical records.
His neurological disease.
Progression.
Treatment failures.
Then a clinical trial designation.
SUBJECT M-2.
"What is M-2?"
"Malcolm."
"Who is M-1?"
Evelyn turned the page.
Nathan.
Ava stared.
Nathan had the same disease markers.
"But Nathan seems healthy."
"Because Nathan received the correct treatment."
Ava went cold.
"And Malcolm?"
"Placebo protocol."
Ava looked toward the hallway.
"Northstar deliberately let him get sick."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"To keep him dependent."
Ava closed her eyes.
This did not erase what Malcolm had done.
But it explained the desperation.
Evelyn continued.
"There's another problem."
"What?"
"Malcolm's disease isn't hereditary."
Ava frowned.
"They induced it."
"How?"
"Long-term exposure."
"To what?"
Evelyn looked toward the case.
"A compound Northstar developed using Mercer-line cells."
Ava felt nauseated.
"So part of me poisoned him."
"No."
"Biologically."
"No, Ava."
Evelyn's voice sharpened.
"They used stolen material. You did nothing."
Ava looked down.
Then an alarm sounded from Claire's treatment room.
They ran.
Nathan was convulsing.
Claire shouted:
"His heart rhythm is collapsing!"
Malcolm grabbed his brother's hand.
"Do something!"
Claire injected medication.
Evelyn checked the monitor.
Then froze.
"What?"
Evelyn looked at Nathan's blood sample.
"This isn't trauma."
"What is it?" Ava demanded.
Evelyn whispered:
"He's been poisoned."
Everyone went silent.
Claire looked at the IV bag.
"This came from the ambulance."
Evelyn's face hardened.
"Someone switched it."
Ava looked around the room.
Only seven people had been inside the ambulance.
Ava.
Ryan.
Claire.
Malcolm.
Nathan.
Evelyn.
And one paramedic Evelyn had picked up before the rescue.
Ava hadn't seen him since arriving.
"Where's the medic?"
Evelyn went still.
Then the lights died.
A gunshot sounded from the corridor.
A man screamed.
May you like
When emergency lights came on, the metal archive case was gone.
So was Eleanor.
