Chapter 10 - Ten MinutesMichael broke the library window.
Cold air rushed inside.
Olivia climbed through first.
Evelyn followed.
Smoke filled the second floor.
Michael ran toward the nursery.
"Ethan!"
The crib was empty.
His entire body went numb.
Then he heard a sound.
A lullaby.
Soft.
Coming from the basement.
Michael ran downstairs.
The basement door was open.
His house had never felt so unfamiliar.
There was a hidden passage behind the wine cellar.
He had lived there for years and never noticed it.
At the end was a steel door.
Unlocked.
Inside was a room filled with files.
Not just theirs.
Hundreds.
Families.
Children.
Medical records.
Birth certificates.
Photographs.
Michael stared in disbelief.
Olivia covered her mouth.
"My God."
Evelyn was already crying.
"This is what I was trying to stop."
"What is this?"
"The program."
Michael picked up a folder.
There were names of children.
Adoption records.
Donor files.
Hospital transfers.
Some records were decades old.
At the bottom of one cabinet was a red folder.
His name.
MICHAEL BENNETT.
He opened it.
Inside was a photograph of him as an infant.
The date was wrong.
The hospital was wrong.
And written across the first page were the words:
PLACEMENT COMPLETE.
Michael's breathing stopped.
"What does this mean?"
Evelyn stared at him.
"You're not your father's biological son."
Michael staggered backward.
"What?"
"I was told you were."
"Who told you?"
"Daniel."
Michael looked at her.
"Then why would my father raise me?"
"Because he believed you were his."
Olivia slowly reached for another file.
Her hands trembled.
"Michael."
He turned.
She held up a record.
There were two names.
His.
And Ethan's.
They had the same donor code.
Michael stared at it.
"No."
He could barely speak.
"That's impossible."
Evelyn's expression changed.
"Unless someone wanted them connected."
The sound of footsteps echoed outside the room.
Someone was coming.
Michael extinguished the light.
They waited.
The footsteps stopped.
Then a man's voice came through the door.
"You've found it."
Michael recognized the voice.
Dr. Samuel Vale.
The mysterious doctor.
The door slowly opened.
He stood there wearing a dark coat.
No weapon.
No panic.
Only a smile.
"Mr. Bennett," he said.
Michael stepped forward.
"Where is my son?"
Dr. Vale looked behind him.
"Safe."
"Where?"
"The only place they can't reach him."
Michael clenched his fists.
"Who are you?"
Dr. Vale's smile disappeared.
"I'm the man who delivered your mother her first warning."
"About what?"
Dr. Vale looked at Evelyn.
"That Ethan wasn't the child they were looking for."
Michael frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Dr. Vale answered:
"They wanted you."
Then every light in the basement turned on.
And behind Dr. Vale stood Daniel Reed.
May you like
Alive.
Holding Ethan.
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