Chapter 5 - Arthur Miller Was Never Dead)
Caroline remembered Arthur Miller’s funeral.
She remembered Luke standing beside a closed casket.
She remembered rain.
White roses.
A priest.
Luke crying against her shoulder.
She remembered holding his hand while the casket was lowered.
“You’re lying,” Caroline whispered.
Marcus Vale looked exhausted.
“I wish I were.”
“I attended his funeral.”
“The casket was empty.”
“How would you know?”
“Because I saw Arthur three weeks afterward.”
Caroline’s fingers tightened around the blanket.
“Where?”
“Brightwell.”
Detective Alvarez activated a recorder.
“Start from the beginning.”
Marcus looked at Caroline.
“Arthur Miller financed reproductive research.”
“What kind?”
“Embryo selection. Genetic screening. Fertility optimization.”
Dr. Carter’s expression hardened.
“That terminology can cover a lot of unethical practices.”
“It did.”
Marcus looked toward the floor.
“He believed his family line was deteriorating.”
Caroline almost laughed.
“His family line?”
“He wanted male heirs. Healthy, high-performing male heirs.”
Caroline’s face became cold.
“And Luke believed this?”
“Eventually.”
“Eventually?”
“Luke hated his father when he was young. Then he became obsessed with earning his approval.”
Caroline thought about her husband.
Every expensive car.
Every promotion.
Every dinner at which he talked about legacy.
Suddenly all of it seemed connected.
Marcus continued.
“Arthur arranged genetic testing before you and Luke married.”
Caroline stared.
“Testing on me?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Routine blood work. Insurance medical exams. Anything he could access.”
She turned toward Alvarez.
“That’s illegal.”
“Yes,” Alvarez said.
Marcus nodded.
“Arthur selected you.”
Caroline felt sick.
“Selected me for what?”
“To marry Luke.”
Silence swallowed the room.
Caroline shook her head.
“No. Luke met me at a restaurant.”
“Arthur owned the restaurant.”
“No.”
“The friend who introduced you?”
“Melissa.”
“Her husband worked for Miller Holdings.”
Caroline remembered Melissa suddenly relocating six months after the wedding.
She never heard from her again.
Marcus continued.
“You weren’t random.”
Caroline stared at him.
“What was special about me?”
“Your family medical history.”
“What about it?”
“Low incidence of hereditary disease. Strong fertility indicators. Specific genetic markers.”
Dr. Carter interrupted.
“What markers?”
“I never saw the complete file.”
“But Arthur did?”
“Yes.”
Caroline whispered, “So they picked me like livestock.”
Marcus said nothing.
That silence confirmed it.
“And when I became pregnant?”
“Arthur monitored everything.”
“The first baby.”
Marcus’s face tightened.
“I wasn’t your physician then.”
“What happened?”
“I heard the fetus was female.”
Caroline understood before he finished.
“No.”
Marcus looked away.
“No.”
“No.”
She reached instinctively for her stomach.
“Are you saying they ended my pregnancy?”
“I don’t know exactly what happened.”
“You just said female.”
“I heard Arthur furious about it. Weeks later, you were no longer pregnant.”
Caroline began shaking.
Dr. Carter stood.
“We need to stop.”
“No.”
“Caroline.”
“No.”
Her voice cracked.
“Grace?”
Marcus looked back at her.
“Grace was different.”
“How?”
“Luke caused the trauma.”
Caroline closed her eyes.
“And then you erased it.”
“I sedated you.”
“You erased it.”
“I followed instructions.”
“Whose?”
“Luke’s.”
Caroline stared at him.
Marcus’s voice dropped.
“He was terrified you would remember he pushed you.”
The staircase returned.
Blue wall.
Yellow socks.
Luke shouting.
Then a hand.
Her body falling backward.
Caroline gasped.
“I remember.”
Everyone froze.
“He pushed me.”
Marcus closed his eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
“He pushed me because Grace was a girl.”
Marcus looked up.
“Yes.”
Caroline turned away.
For a long time nobody spoke.
Then Alvarez asked the question that changed everything again.
“What about the current pregnancy?”
Marcus’s face drained of color.
“I don’t know.”
“You knew enough to call her.”
Caroline looked at him sharply.
“That was you?”
“Yes.”
The voicemail.
Marcus had warned her.
“Why now?”
“Because Arthur contacted me three weeks ago.”
Caroline’s heart accelerated.
“What did he want?”
“To know whether you had started remembering Grace.”
“And what did you tell him?”
“That I hadn’t seen you.”
“Why would he care?”
May you like
Marcus looked toward Caroline’s abdomen.
“Because after this baby is born, they don’t need you anymore.”
