Chapter 7 - DANIELWe reached the lake before sunrise.
The police stayed behind.
Rebecca insisted we couldn't trust them.
I wanted to believe she was lying.
But five years of lies had already shattered my sense of reality.
We arrived at an old boathouse.
The door was open.
Inside, there was blood on the floor.
Thomas was nowhere to be found.
Rebecca pointed toward the basement.
“He's down there.”
I descended the stairs alone.
At the bottom was a small room.
A man sat in a chair.
His back was to me.
Gray hair.
Thin shoulders.
A scar across the neck.
“Daniel?”
The man turned.
My entire body stopped.
It was him.
My husband.
Alive.
Older.
Broken.
He stared at me.
“Karen.”
I covered my mouth.
“No.”
“Yes.”
I stepped forward.
He stood.
I slapped him.
Hard.
He didn't react.
I slapped him again.
“You let me bury you.”
“I know.”
“You let Sophie believe you were dead.”
“I know.”
“You watched me raise her alone.”
“I know.”
“Then why?”
His eyes filled with tears.
“Because I thought you were safer without me.”
I hated him.
And loved him.
Both at once.
“Where is Grace?”
His expression changed.
“She's been taken.”
“By whom?”
“I don't know.”
Rebecca entered the room.
Daniel looked at her.
“You shouldn't have come.”
Rebecca shook her head.
“I had no choice.”
Daniel looked at me.
“Karen, listen carefully.”
“No more lies.”
“I need you to trust me.”
“I trusted you for twenty years.”
“I know.”
“And you destroyed me.”
He lowered his head.
“You're right.”
Then he looked at Sophie.
She stood in the doorway.
Her face was wet with tears.
“Dad?”
Daniel couldn't speak.
Sophie ran to him.
He wrapped his arms around her.
For several seconds, none of us moved.
Then Sophie pulled away.
“Why did you leave us?”
Daniel looked at her.
“Because they threatened to kill you.”
“Who?”
Daniel hesitated.
“The Mercer Foundation.”
I frowned.
“Our family foundation?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“It was never just a charity.”
Daniel explained.
The foundation had been collecting genetic samples for decades.
Blood tests.
Medical donations.
Hospital records.
Even newborn screening programs.
All used to map families.
“Our family?”
“Your family.”
“What makes us special?”
Daniel looked at Sophie.
“You and Grace.”
I didn't understand.
He took a breath.
“Your mother had a genetic anomaly.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“Your body can regenerate certain neural tissue faster than normal.”
“That makes no sense.”
“They discovered it when you were twenty-two.”
I remembered nothing.
Daniel continued.
“They used your medical records to create embryos.”
My stomach dropped.
“Embryos?”
“One of them became Grace.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“I'm sorry.”
“Grace was created?”
“Yes.”
“Then who is Emily?”
“Emily was her surrogate.”
“And Thomas?”
“A scientist who tried to expose the project.”
“Why was Grace born five years ago?”
Daniel looked at me.
“Because she was the first successful embryo.”
Sophie stared at him.
“Then why did everyone say she was a newborn?”
Daniel looked toward the door.
“Because she's not Grace.”
I froze.
“What?”
“The baby you brought home is not the child they were looking for.”
Silence.
“What are you saying?”
Daniel whispered,
“The real Grace disappeared five years ago.”
My heart stopped.
“The baby Sophie brought home is someone else.”
“Then who is she?”
Daniel looked at me.
“We don't know.”
Before anyone could speak, a gunshot rang outside.
Daniel grabbed Sophie.
Rebecca drew her weapon.
Another gunshot.
Then a man's voice echoed through the boathouse.
“Daniel!”
We froze.
A familiar voice.
The police officer.
He shouted,
“You need to come out.”
Rebecca looked at me.
Then she whispered,
“He's one of them.”
The door burst open.
Officers stormed inside.
And leading them was the man from the highway.
The man who had followed us.
He smiled.
May you like
Then he looked directly at me.
“Karen, you brought us the wrong baby.”
