Chapter 9 - The Nurse With the Scar
Marcus called the scarred woman Lena Vale.
She had once been a neonatal nurse at St. Catherine’s and an Arden research subject before becoming an employee.
Twelve years earlier, Lena had been ordered to remove a newborn named Isabelle Grant from the maternity ward. Instead, she tried to escape with the child.
Arden security intercepted her.
The hospital reported an attempted abduction, and a baby was returned to Isabelle’s mother.
But Marcus believed the returned infant was not Isabelle.
“What happened to the real child?” I asked.
“No one knows.”
“And Lena?”
“She disappeared.”
“You said the baby in our house is her daughter.”
Marcus nodded.
“Lena became pregnant last year while living under an assumed identity. Arden found her shortly before she gave birth.”
“Who is the father?”
“We don’t know.”
“Why would she switch her own baby with mine?”
“She may not have had a choice.”
Noah entered the room, holding Oliver.
He stared at Marcus.
“You were at the hospital.”
Marcus stiffened.
“No, son.”
“Yes, you were.”
Daniel moved between them.
“Noah, look carefully.”
“I heard his voice.”
Marcus crouched.
“What did you hear me say?”
“You told the lady she brought the wrong baby.”
Marcus closed his eyes.
“That was me.”
Daniel grabbed his father’s coat.
“You were there?”
“I was trying to stop them.”
“You never told me.”
“I could not risk contacting you.”
“My daughter was stolen.”
Marcus pulled free.
“I arrived after Lena had already moved the infants. She was supposed to deliver Sophie to an Arden transport team. Instead, she brought Lily Morrison. I told her she had the wrong child because I was trying to understand what she was doing.”
“Then where was Sophie?”
“Lena had hidden her.”
“Where?”
“She refused to tell me.”
I stepped closer.
“Is my daughter alive?”
“She was when I last saw Lena.”
“When?”
“Yesterday.”
Hope and fury collided inside me.
“You’ve known where Lena is.”
“I knew where she planned to be. She has moved since then.”
“Why didn’t you bring Sophie back?”
“Because Arden is tracking every person connected to your family. Lena believes Sophie’s only chance is to remain hidden until the archive is released.”
“Then release it.”
Marcus looked at Daniel.
“The drive he gave me was encrypted.”
“Can’t you open it?” I asked.
“The key was divided into three parts. Daniel has one. Evelyn has one. Sebastian Arden holds the third.”
I stared at him.
“Sebastian Arden would be over one hundred years old.”
“He is ninety-eight.”
“And alive?”
“Technically.”
Marcus showed us a recent photograph.
An ancient man lay inside a sophisticated medical chamber. Tubes ran from his arms and neck. Computer screens surrounded him.
“He has been sustained by experimental treatments for years,” Marcus said. “The Founder-line restoration protocol was designed to find a descendant biologically compatible enough to provide repeated stem-cell material.”
My skin crawled.
“They want Sophie for medical harvesting?”
“They want any compatible child. Sophie may be the strongest match discovered in decades.”
Daniel looked sick.
“Why?”
“Because of her maternal genetics.”
I frowned.
“My genetics?”
Marcus studied me.
“You were adopted, weren’t you?”
The question stunned me.
My parents had told me when I was young. I knew nothing about my biological family.
“How do you know?”
“Because Arden arranged your adoption.”
The room became silent.
Marcus continued.
“Your biological mother was part of the founder line.”
“Who was she?”
“A girl named Isabelle Grant.”
The stolen baby from twelve years earlier.
“That’s impossible,” I said. “I’m thirty-four.”
“Not the infant from the hospital case. That child was named after her mother.”
He removed a folded family chart.
My biological mother, Isabelle Grant Senior, had been one of Sebastian Arden’s unacknowledged grandchildren. She disappeared after giving birth to me.
Twelve years later, another woman in that branch of the family named her daughter Isabelle.
The institute had followed the same bloodline for generations.
“You weren’t targeted because you married Daniel,” Marcus said.
I looked at my husband.
“You married me because of them?”
“No,” Daniel said. “I swear I had no idea.”
Marcus nodded.
“That part is true. Their meeting appears to have been accidental.”
“Nothing about this feels accidental.”
The newborn began to cry.
I lifted her and held her close.
“What is her name?”
Marcus looked at Lena’s photograph.
“According to the records, Lena named her Grace.”
Grace opened her eyes.
For the first time, we could call her something other than false Sophie.
Marcus placed the Mercer coordinates on the table.
“Lena will contact us there tonight.”
“You said not to take Grace.”
“We leave her somewhere safe.”
“No,” I said. “I’m not handing another baby to strangers.”
“Arden wants Grace too.”
“Why?”
Marcus glanced at Noah.
“Because Lena told them Grace’s father belonged to the founder line.”
Daniel’s face hardened.
May you like
“Who?”
Before Marcus could answer, a bullet shattered the window.
