CHAPTER 4 THE CHILD WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN DEAD
Grace stopped breathing.
The voice came from somewhere ahead in the tunnel.
Soft.
Frightened.
Almost swallowed by the hum of the underground ventilation system.
“Mommy?”
Lily tightened her grip around Grace's waist.
Nathan immediately raised his gun.
“Stay behind me.”
Grace didn't move.
Her entire body had gone cold.
She knew that voice.
She had heard it thousands of times.
In dreams.
In nightmares.
In the memories she had spent five years trying to bury.
A little girl.
A little girl who had died before Grace ever escaped from the Cole family.
A little girl whose photograph had once been placed in Grace's hands.
A little girl whose name had never left her heart.
“Emma…”
Nathan looked at her.
“Who is Emma?”
Grace couldn't answer.
The voice came again.
“Mommy…”
This time, it was crying.
Grace took one step forward.
Nathan caught her wrist.
“No.”
“That's her.”
“Who?”
“Emma.”
Grace's eyes filled with tears.
“My first baby.”
Nathan stared at her.
“You had another child?”
Grace nodded slowly.
“She was born before Lily.”
Nathan's expression changed.
“You never told me.”
“I didn't know if she was alive.”
Grace looked down the tunnel.
“Your father told me she died.”
Nathan's face hardened.
“My father?”
Grace nodded.
“He said she was born sick.”
Nathan's jaw clenched.
“When?”
“Eight months before Lily.”
Nathan stared at her.
“That means…”
Grace looked at him.
“Yes.”
Another voice came from the darkness.
“Mommy!”
Lily suddenly whispered:
“Who's that?”
Grace's heart shattered.
She knelt beside Lily.
“I don't know, sweetheart.”
But Grace did know.
Or at least she believed she did.
Five years ago, when she was pregnant with Lily, Grace had discovered that she had once been pregnant before.
She had been sixteen.
Her family had sent her away.
The child had been born prematurely.
A nurse had told her the baby didn't survive.
Years later, Grace had discovered that the hospital belonged to Cole Global.
She had asked questions.
Then men had appeared.
Threats followed.
And finally, Richard Cole had given her a choice.
Forget the past.
Or lose Lily too.
Grace had chosen Lily.
She had never looked back.
Until now.
Nathan's voice softened.
“What was her name?”
Grace whispered:
“Emma.”
He looked down the tunnel.
Then back at Grace.
“Stay here.”
“No.”
“Grace.”
“I am not letting another child disappear.”
Nathan stared at her.
For a moment, he looked like he wanted to argue.
Then he nodded.
They moved forward together.
The tunnel narrowed.
The walls were made of old concrete.
Emergency lights flickered every few meters.
Then Nathan noticed something.
A small red handprint.
On the wall.
He stopped.
Grace saw it too.
Another handprint appeared farther ahead.
Then another.
Small.
Child-sized.
Lily stared at them.
“Daddy…”
Nathan crouched.
“It's okay.”
“Those are little hands.”
“Yes.”
“Who made them?”
Nathan didn't answer.
They continued.
The voice became clearer.
“Mommy…”
Grace began running.
“Emma!”
Nathan chased after her.
The tunnel opened into a large underground chamber.
Grace stopped.
Her hand flew to her mouth.
There were beds.
Medical equipment.
Monitors.
Plastic curtains.
The room looked like a secret hospital.
And in the center was a little girl.
She was sitting on a narrow bed.
Barefoot.
Wearing a pale blue hospital gown.
Her hair was dark.
Her face was thin.
She looked about five years old.
She stared at Grace.
Then slowly smiled.
“Mommy.”
Grace collapsed to her knees.
“Emma…”
The girl climbed off the bed.
Grace ran to her.
She pulled Emma into her arms.
The child buried her face against Grace's chest.
“You came back.”
Grace began sobbing.
“I thought you were dead.”
Emma looked confused.
“Who told you that?”
Grace couldn't answer.
Nathan stood behind them.
Frozen.
The resemblance was unmistakable.
Emma had Grace's eyes.
But there was something else.
The shape of her jaw.
The dark hair.
The small dimple in her cheek.
Nathan looked at Grace.
“Is she…”
Grace nodded.
“She was born before Lily.”
Nathan slowly crouched beside them.
Emma looked at him.
“Who are you?”
Nathan opened his mouth.
No words came.
Grace looked at him.
Then at Emma.
“This is Nathan.”
Emma tilted her head.
“Nathan?”
Grace swallowed.
“Your father.”
The little girl's eyes widened.
“My daddy?”
Nathan's eyes filled with tears.
He nodded.
“Yes.”
Emma stared at him for several seconds.
Then she asked:
“Why did you take so long?”
Nathan broke.
He reached for her.
Emma stepped into his arms.
He held her carefully.
As though she might disappear.
“I didn't know you were alive.”
Emma whispered:
“They told me you didn't want me.”
Nathan closed his eyes.
“No.”
His voice cracked.
“I wanted you.”
Emma pulled away.
“Then why didn't you come?”
Nathan looked at Grace.
There was no answer that could repair five years.
Then a monitor behind them beeped.
Nathan looked up.
A screen showed several numbers.
Emma's patient identification.
PATIENT: E-17
Underneath:
GENETIC STATUS: COLE LINEAGE CONFIRMED
Nathan's face hardened.
“Why was she here?”
Grace looked around.
“Because they kept her.”
Nathan noticed the rows of files.
He grabbed one.
The label read:
PROJECT HEIR.
His blood ran cold.
“What is Project Heir?”
Emma suddenly grabbed his hand.
“Don't open that.”
Nathan looked at her.
“Why?”
“They said bad things happen when Daddy reads the red files.”
Grace looked at the cabinet.
Every file inside was red.
Nathan opened one.
The first page contained a list of names.
Children.
Seven children.
Seven birth dates.
Seven mothers.
Beside each name was a status.
TERMINATED.
TRANSFERRED.
MISSING.
Nathan's breathing became shallow.
Grace looked over his shoulder.
Her face turned white.
“Seven…”
Nathan flipped the page.
At the bottom was another category.
SURVIVING HEIRS.
There were two names.
EMMA CARTER.
And:
LILY CARTER.
Grace grabbed the file.
“They knew about Lily.”
Nathan nodded.
“They've known since before she was born.”
A noise suddenly came from the corridor.
Footsteps.
Nathan closed the file.
“Someone's coming.”
Grace grabbed Lily.
Emma clung to Nathan.
They moved behind the medical equipment.
The chamber door opened.
A woman entered.
She wore a white medical coat.
Her hair was gray.
She carried a clipboard.
She looked directly toward Emma's empty bed.
Then she smiled.
“She's gone.”
Nathan raised his gun.
“Don't move.”
The woman froze.
Her eyes widened.
Then she looked at Nathan.
“Mr. Cole.”
Nathan's voice was ice.
“Who are you?”
The woman stared at him.
“Dr. Helen Mercer.”
Grace recognized the name.
She had seen it in her old medical records.
The doctor who had supposedly delivered Emma.
Grace stepped forward.
“You told me my baby died.”
Dr. Mercer lowered her eyes.
“I was ordered to say that.”
“By whom?”
The doctor didn't answer.
Nathan stepped closer.
“Who ordered you?”
The doctor looked at him.
Then toward Emma.
Then Lily.
Her face filled with fear.
“You shouldn't have brought both girls here.”
Nathan's eyes narrowed.
“Why?”
The doctor whispered:
“Because this facility isn't abandoned.”
Suddenly every door in the chamber slammed shut.
The lights turned red.
A mechanical voice echoed through the speakers.
“UNAUTHORIZED HEIRS DETECTED.”
Grace pulled Lily closer.
Nathan moved in front of both girls.
The doctor looked horrified.
“No…”
Nathan shouted:
“What is happening?”
The doctor stared at the ceiling.
“They know.”
“Who?”
The doctor whispered:
“The Board.”
Nathan's face hardened.
“What board?”
Dr. Mercer looked at him.
“The people your father has been protecting for twenty years.”
A loud metallic click came from the ceiling.
Then another.
Several hidden cameras rotated toward them.
Nathan raised his weapon.
A voice came through the speakers.
Cold.
Distorted.
Almost emotionless.
“Hello, Nathan.”
Nathan froze.
He knew that voice.
It belonged to his father.
But Richard was still inside the library.
The voice continued.
“You have found Emma.”
Grace looked at Nathan.
The voice continued:
“You have found the truth.”
Nathan shouted:
“Where is my father?”
A pause.
Then:
“Where he has always been.”
The speakers crackled.
“Watching.”
Nathan's face hardened.
Then the voice said something that made Grace's blood run cold.
“Unfortunately, Nathan, you brought us exactly what we needed.”
Grace whispered:
“What?”
The voice answered:
“Lily.”
A red light appeared above Lily.
It locked onto her.
Nathan immediately pulled her behind him.
The doors began unlocking.
One by one.
The voice returned.
“Take the girls.”
Nathan aimed his gun at the nearest door.
“No.”
The voice laughed softly.
“You still don't understand.”
The final door opened.
Standing outside were six armed men.
And behind them was Victoria.
Her white dress was stained with blood.
Her face was no longer frightened.
She smiled at Nathan.
Then she looked directly at Lily.
“Bring me the child.”
Nathan stepped forward.
“You're not touching her.”
Victoria's smile widened.
“Not Lily.”
She pointed behind him.
“Emma.”
Grace turned.
Emma was gone.
The little girl's hospital bed was empty.
Nathan's blood ran cold.
A monitor suddenly flashed.
PATIENT E-17 TRANSFERRED.
And beneath it appeared a new message:
NEXT TRANSFER: L-17.
Lily.
Grace screamed.
“NO!”
Nathan turned toward the darkness.
Somewhere beneath the facility, a door slammed shut.
And the countdown began.
09:59.
09:58.
09:57.
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They had ten minutes to find Emma.
And whoever controlled the facility had already taken Lily's name off the list of survivors.
