Chapter 5 - Behind the East Wing Door)
At 1:00 a.m., Margaret’s suite went dark. Claire and Ethan crossed the corridor without shoes. The silver key opened the east wing with a reluctant metallic scrape.
Cold air met them. The rooms beyond had been preserved, not abandoned. Dust sheets covered furniture, but the floor showed fresh wheel marks. At the end of the hall, they found a concealed elevator descending below the basement.
The key activated it.
Below the house was a private clinic: stainless-steel cabinets, an examination table, refrigeration units, and shelves of numbered files. The equipment was old but functional. A generator vibrated behind the walls.
Claire found Anna’s name in a ledger. Beside it were the words VIABLE DELIVERY and SUBJECT TRANSFERRED.
“She did not miscarry,” Claire said.
Ethan gripped the counter until his knuckles whitened.
His own file contained years of blood tests, drug schedules, and behavioral observations written by Margaret. The latest entry was dated that morning.
WIFE NONCOMPLIANT. ACCELERATE TRANSFER.
“Transfer of what?” Claire asked.
A refrigeration unit clicked on. Inside were rows of vials labeled with women’s names. Claire found Anna, then four women from the newspaper clippings.
At the back stood a newer vial.
CLAIRE HART BLACKWOOD.
The date was three months before the wedding.
Claire stared at Ethan. “I have never given your family blood.”
He looked genuinely horrified.
Footsteps sounded above them.
They switched off the clinic lights and hid behind a curtain. Margaret descended with Dr. Leonard Vale, the family physician who had attended the wedding. They rolled a locked medical case between them.
“The bride refused the waiver,” Vale said.
“Then we proceed without consent,” Margaret replied.
“Charles would never have risked another death.”
“Charles became weak. That is why he died.”
Ethan moved, but Claire held his arm.
Margaret opened the case. Inside lay a sealed folder bearing Claire’s name and a pregnancy test marked POSITIVE.
Claire’s breath stopped.
She had taken no test.
May you like
Margaret turned directly toward the curtain.
“You may come out now,” she said. “Both of you.”
