Chapter 19 - THE FOURTH CHILD
The laughter echoed through the underground corridor.
Eleanor felt every hair on her arms rise.
Daniel whispered,
“That's impossible.”
Thomas looked at him.
“Nothing in this family is impossible.”
Eleanor stepped toward him.
“Take me to him.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because he isn't what you think.”
“He's a child.”
Thomas shook his head.
“He was a child.”
“What does that mean?”
Sarah stepped closer.
“The boy was part of the original program.”
Eleanor looked at her.
“What program?”
Sarah hesitated.
“Your grandfather believed certain inherited traits could be engineered.”
Eleanor stared.
“You mean genetics.”
“Yes.”
“Was it legal?”
“No.”
“Then why did nobody stop him?”
“Because money protected him.”
Eleanor looked at Thomas.
“And you helped.”
His expression hardened.
“I tried to stop it.”
“Too late.”
“Yes.”
Daniel looked at the monitors.
“How many children were involved?”
Sarah answered,
“Five.”
Eleanor's heart sank.
“Five?”
“Five original children.”
“Where are the others?”
“Dead.”
Silence.
“Except one.”
Eleanor looked toward the dark corridor.
“The boy.”
Sarah nodded.
“The fourth.”
“Who's the fifth?”
Sarah looked away.
Thomas answered.
“You.”
Eleanor froze.
“What?”
“You were the control subject.”
Eleanor shook her head.
“No.”
“You were born naturally.”
“Then why am I part of the program?”
“Because your DNA was used as the baseline.”
Eleanor felt sick.
“My DNA.”
“Yes.”
“For all the others.”
“Yes.”
She looked at Lily's empty screen.
“So my daughters…”
“Were selected because they inherited your marker.”
Eleanor's eyes filled with tears.
“They're not experiments.”
“No.”
Thomas looked at her.
“They are the reason the program was exposed.”
Eleanor frowned.
“Why?”
“Because Lily developed something the others didn't.”
“What?”
Thomas hesitated.
“She doesn't carry the marker.”
Eleanor stared.
“What?”
“She carries something else.”
“What?”
Thomas looked toward the monitor.
“A mutation.”
Sarah stepped forward.
“A rare one.”
Eleanor felt her stomach tighten.
“What does it do?”
Thomas shook his head.
“We don't know.”
“Then why is everyone after her?”
“Because whoever controls the mutation may control the research.”
Eleanor looked at Daniel.
“This is why they took Lily.”
“Yes.”
“And Emily?”
“She carries a different variation.”
Eleanor's heart sank.
“My children are being hunted because of their DNA.”
Sarah nodded.
“Yes.”
Daniel looked toward the door.
“Then we get them out.”
Thomas shook his head.
“You can't.”
“Why?”
“Because they're not here.”
Eleanor stared.
“Where are they?”
“Two different locations.”
“Where?”
“Lily is in Boston.”
“Emily?”
“Chicago.”
Eleanor's face went pale.
“Who has them?”
Thomas didn't answer.
A phone rang.
Sarah answered.
“Hello?”
A distorted voice spoke.
“Bring Eleanor to the old courthouse.”
Sarah's expression changed.
“Who are you?”
The voice laughed.
“You already know.”
The call ended.
Eleanor looked at Thomas.
“Edward.”
Thomas nodded.
Daniel stepped forward.
“We're going.”
Thomas grabbed his arm.
“You'll be walking into a trap.”
Eleanor pulled Daniel away.
“Then we'll walk in prepared.”
They drove through the night.
Boston was hours away, but the old courthouse was their first destination.
The building stood abandoned near the waterfront.
Eleanor walked inside.
The hallway smelled of dust and old paper.
A single light flickered overhead.
Then a voice came through the speakers.
“Eleanor.”
She stopped.
“Edward.”
“You've learned too much.”
“Where is Lily?”
“Closer than you think.”
“Bring her here.”
“First, I want something.”
“What?”
“The original DNA file.”
Thomas looked at Eleanor.
She understood.
The file was in her bag.
She pulled it out.
“Here.”
Edward laughed.
“Leave it on the table.”
Eleanor did.
Then the lights came on.
A projector activated.
A video appeared.
Eleanor watched herself as a child.
She was standing in a hospital hallway.
Beside her was a boy.
Her twin.
The same boy from the monitor.
She stared.
“I remember him.”
Thomas looked shocked.
“You shouldn't.”
The video continued.
The boy handed Eleanor a red key.
Then he whispered something.
Eleanor leaned closer.
The audio became clear.
“Don't let them find the door.”
Eleanor froze.
“What door?”
The video showed a red door.
The same red door from her memories.
Then the screen changed.
A photograph appeared.
It showed Eleanor's father.
Standing beside Edward.
Standing beside Robert.
Standing beside Margaret.
And between them was a fifth man.
Eleanor recognized him.
Her stomach dropped.
“That's Daniel's father.”
Thomas shook his head.
“No.”
Eleanor looked at him.
“Then who?”
Thomas whispered,
“The man who financed everything.”
The name appeared on the screen.
HENRY VALE.
Eleanor remembered the name.
It was printed on the back of an old family photograph.
She had thought he was a lawyer.
He wasn't.
He was the architect.
The man who had created the entire program.
Then the screen went black.
A door opened behind Eleanor.
A little boy stood there.
The same boy from the monitor.
He held a red key.
Eleanor's heart stopped.
“Who are you?”
The boy smiled.
“I'm Noah.”
Thomas went pale.
“Noah died twenty years ago.”
The boy looked at him.
“No.”
May you like
He smiled.
“You killed the wrong child.”
