Chapter 7 - The Daughter Vivian Denied
Daniel watched the video three times.
Each time, Clara’s final sentence became more impossible.
My mother is Vivian Mercer.
Thomas insisted it was false.
“Vivian was never pregnant.”
“You knew her thirty-five years ago,” Daniel said. “How can you be certain?”
“She was at Orison every day. She supervised clinical operations.”
“She could have used a surrogate.”
Thomas stopped.
Daniel saw the possibility enter his mind.
Mary looked between them.
“If Clara is Vivian’s daughter, then Daniel married his own sister.”
The room became deathly quiet.
Leo, sitting beside Sophie, looked up.
Daniel felt the floor move beneath him.
“No.”
Thomas shook his head.
“Richard and Vivian used gestational carriers for experimental embryos. But Clara was not their biological child.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I saw her file.”
“You said the records were destroyed.”
“I saw it before the fire.”
“What did it say?”
Thomas hesitated.
Daniel grabbed the front of his shirt.
“What did it say?”
“Clara’s genetic material came from an anonymous donor.”
“And her father?”
“There was no listed father. The embryo was created through a research process.”
Daniel released him.
A detective near the door looked visibly disturbed.
Ross remained focused.
“The video may be psychological manipulation,” she said. “We need DNA testing before accepting any biological claim.”
Daniel looked toward Sophie.
“Take samples from me, Clara’s hairbrush, Vivian’s room, whatever you need.”
Ross nodded.
“Already underway.”
Mary stared at Thomas.
“You knew Clara was created in a laboratory?”
“I knew only fragments.”
“And you never told her?”
“She was a child.”
“She became an adult.”
“I wanted her to have an ordinary life.”
Mary’s voice cracked.
“You wanted to keep your secret.”
Thomas did not deny it.
Dr. Ortiz entered.
“Sophie is stable, but the remaining capsules are changing position.”
Daniel turned.
“Moving?”
“The casing appears magnetically responsive. During the blackout, they migrated along the tissue planes.”
“Can someone control them remotely?”
“We believe so.”
Thomas approached the scan.
“The receiver must be close.”
“How close?”
“For that degree of movement, perhaps within a few hundred yards.”
Ross immediately contacted hospital security.
Daniel looked toward the windows.
Across the street stood a parking garage.
“What happens if they move again?” he asked.
“One could enter the airway or damage a major vessel.”
Ross ordered officers to sweep nearby buildings.
Daniel stood beside Sophie’s bed.
She opened her eyes.
“Dad?”
“I’m here.”
“Mom was here.”
Daniel glanced at the empty room.
“When?”
“She stood beside the window.”
“Were you dreaming?”
Sophie shook her head.
“She said she was sorry.”
Daniel looked toward the glass door.
No one had entered without being recorded.
“What else did she say?”
“She said the birthday party was supposed to keep everyone busy.”
“Busy while she did what?”
Sophie touched the rabbit Leo had brought.
“She needed Grandma’s key.”
Leo stepped closer.
“What key?”
Sophie looked at him.
“The one inside your cake.”
Daniel remembered the cake collapsing when he flipped the table. Blue icing, broken decorations, silver supports.
A key could have been hidden inside.
Vivian had insisted on using a specific luxury bakery and had personally supervised delivery.
“What did the key open?” Daniel asked.
Sophie’s eyelids fluttered.
“The garden.”
The monitors beeped faster.
Dr. Ortiz examined her.
“Sophie, stay still.”
The dark line beneath the bandage began moving again.
This time, Daniel could see several tiny shapes traveling beneath the skin.
Sophie screamed.
The emergency team rushed in.
Daniel was forced into the corridor.
Ross’s phone rang.
She listened, then looked at Daniel.
“The parking garage team found someone with a transmitter.”
“Who?”
“Your wife.”
Daniel stared.
Ross continued.
“She ran when officers approached.”
“Clara would not run from the police.”
“She left behind a device broadcasting on the same frequency as Sophie’s capsules.”
“Where is she now?”
“We don’t know.”
Daniel looked through the glass as doctors fought to stabilize his daughter.
A text arrived from Clara’s number.
May you like
YOU HAVE FOUR HOURS TO FIND THE KEY.
AFTER THAT, SOPHIE’S LAST CAPSULE OPENS.
