Chapter 8 - Our First ChildI couldn't move.
The first baby.
Alive.
Taken.
No.
It was impossible.
I had been there.
I'd held Sophie's hand.
I'd watched the doctors.
I'd signed the paperwork.
Or had I?
“Where is my child?”
Laura didn't answer.
“Where?”
She looked down.
“Project Helix kept records.”
“Where?”
“The archive.”
I gripped her shoulder.
“Tell me where.”
She winced.
“Your father knows.”
“My father?”
“Yes.”
“He knew my baby survived?”
“I believe he did.”
My vision blurred.
I remembered the night of the first miscarriage.
The doctor had told us there was no heartbeat.
Sophie had cried.
I had signed forms.
Then the hospital had taken the remains.
At least, that's what I thought.
“What about the second?”
Laura's expression changed.
“Different.”
“Explain.”
“The second pregnancy was discovered by Helix.”
My chest tightened.
“What did they do?”
“They wanted to see whether the fetus carried your genetic marker.”
“And?”
“The fetus did.”
I couldn't breathe.
“Then why did we lose it?”
Laura stared at me.
“You didn't.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“They took it.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Stop.”
“You need to hear this.”
I stepped away.
“No.”
“They staged the losses.”
“Why?”
“Because your family needed you to believe the children were dead.”
My knees weakened.
“Why would they do that?”
“Because if you knew they were alive, you would have gone looking.”
“And Sophie?”
“She knew.”
I stared at her.
“How?”
“She discovered the records after the second pregnancy.”
I thought about Sophie's strange behavior.
Her silences.
Her nightmares.
The way she watched me whenever I left the house.
And her final words.
I hope one day you forgive yourself.
She had known.
She had always known.
I whispered:
“Where are my children?”
Laura looked at me.
“One died.”
The room went silent.
“The first child died after birth.”
My chest shattered.
“And the second?”
Laura hesitated.
“Alive.”
I stared at her.
“How old?”
“Almost two.”
Almost two.
My child.
Alive.
Somewhere.
I sat down.
For the first time in my military career, I felt completely helpless.
“Where?”
“The archive holds the answer.”
“Where is the archive?”
Laura shook her head.
“Your father knows.”
I stood.
“Then I'm going to find him.”
Before I could move, the hospital lights went out.
A gunshot exploded in the hallway.
Laura screamed.
I pulled her to the floor.
Another shot.
Then another.
Footsteps approached.
Someone entered the room.
A flashlight swept across the walls.
I prepared to fire.
Then a voice spoke.
“Ethan.”
My father.
I lowered my weapon.
“Dad?”
He stepped into the room.
His face looked older than I remembered.
Exhausted.
He carried no visible weapon.
“Is what she said true?”
My father looked at me.
“Yes.”
My stomach collapsed.
“Our first child…”
“Yes.”
“The second…”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
He closed his eyes.
“I can take you there.”
“Where?”
He whispered:
“The archive isn't a building.”
I frowned.
“What is it?”
My father looked toward Laura.
Then back at me.
“It's a person.”
I froze.
“Who?”
My father said one sentence.
May you like
And every piece of my life suddenly shifted.
“Your second child.”
