Chapter 12 - What Happened to Claire
Nathan released his brother.
“Tell me everything.”
Philip glanced toward the approaching security officers.
“Not here.”
They entered an empty consultation room while Rosa contacted the sheriff. Two trusted deputies were sent to guard the evidence.
Philip sat near the window.
“For years, I believed Claire died from her illness,” he began.
“She did.”
“Yes. But her condition worsened after someone tampered with medication delivered through a Kane-owned specialty pharmacy.”
Nathan stared at him.
“You have proof?”
“Not proof. Records showing her prescription was replaced three times despite the correct order from her physician.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I found the records after she died. By then, Marcus’s attorneys had already buried every complaint.”
“You were one of those attorneys.”
“I was.”
Nathan turned away before anger took control of him.
Rosa continued the questioning.
“What does Mara Bell have to do with it?”
“Mara worked at the fertility clinic. She discovered that embryos and genetic records were being reassigned. She contacted Claire.”
“Where is Mara now?”
“Officially, she died in a highway accident five years ago.”
“And unofficially?”
“I don’t know. Her body was never independently identified.”
Nathan looked at the evidence box.
“Claire wrote that we should find her.”
“Claire believed Mara survived.”
The sheriff arrived and took custody of the files. Search teams were sent to the underground facility, the Kane Medical headquarters, and Marcus’s known properties.
By afternoon, federal investigators joined the case.
Hale was formally arrested on charges connected to unlawful detention, evidence tampering, and unauthorized medical procedures. The nurse from the blue room agreed to cooperate. Several hospital administrators were suspended.
The emergency custody order was finally filed.
Marcus lost immediate access to Lily and the infants pending investigation.
For the first time since the sled crossed Nathan’s terrace, Elena allowed herself to breathe.
She sat beside the twins in a guarded hospital room while Lily slept nearby.
Nathan entered with Rosa.
“The implants will be removed tomorrow,” he said. “A court-appointed medical team will document everything.”
“Will they be safe?” Elena asked.
“Yes.”
She looked toward the window.
“Marcus will not stop.”
“He is losing the people who protected him.”
“That makes him more dangerous.”
Nathan sat across from her.
“Did you know about Mara Bell?”
Elena nodded slowly.
“I learned the name after the twins were born.”
“Did you know they might be her biological children?”
“I suspected it.”
“Why didn’t you go to the police?”
“I tried.”
“What happened?”
“Marcus showed them psychiatric reports claiming I had invented the pregnancy.”
Rosa frowned. “But you gave birth.”
“According to the hospital record, I suffered a pregnancy loss.”
Nathan understood the scale of the deception.
Eva and Noah had been born in a private Kane facility, then entered into records under another identity before being quietly placed with Elena.
Marcus could make the children legally disappear whenever he wanted.
Elena touched Noah’s blanket.
“Claire prepared evidence in case Marcus erased us. She told me to reach you only when I had no other choice.”
“Why wait four years?”
“Because I believed staying with Marcus was the only way to keep Lily alive.”
Lily opened her eyes.
“You didn’t stay for me,” she said.
Elena turned.
“You stayed because he told you my real father was dangerous.”
The room became silent.
Nathan remembered the DNA report.
“Lily,” Elena said carefully, “you need to rest.”
“I heard him talking to Dr. Hale.”
“What did you hear?”
“He said my father was coming back.”
Elena stood so quickly that her chair fell.
“When?”
“At the cabin. Before you gave me the sled.”
“What exactly did he say?”
Lily repeated the sentence.
“Once Adrian arrives, Elena will have nowhere left to run.”
Elena’s face went white.
Rosa caught her arm.
“Who is Adrian?”
May you like
Elena looked at Nathan.
“Claire’s brother.”
