Chapter 4: The Child in Her Arms
Ethan couldn't breathe.
The hallway seemed to narrow around him.
Red emergency lights flashed across the white walls.
Once.
Twice.
Again.
And in Margaret's arms was a newborn baby.
A tiny face.
A small fist curled against a blanket.
But the eyes were unmistakable.
Ethan's eyes.
He stared at the child.
Then at Clara.
Then back at the baby.
“No.”
Margaret smiled.
“You recognize him.”
Ethan's voice came out barely above a whisper.
“Who is that?”
Margaret slowly walked forward.
“My grandson.”
Clara screamed.
“Give him to me!”
She tried to move, but another contraction nearly dropped her.
Ethan caught her.
Margaret's smile widened.
“You see?”
She looked at Clara's stomach.
“Even now, your body knows.”
Ethan tightened his arms around his wife.
“What did you do?”
Margaret tilted her head.
“I saved the family.”
“You kidnapped my wife.”
“I protected her.”
“You imprisoned her!”
“Because she couldn't be trusted.”
Clara stared at her.
“Trusted with what?”
Margaret's expression hardened.
“With the truth.”
Daniel raised his gun.
“Put the baby down.”
The man standing beside Margaret immediately pointed his weapon at Daniel.
Margaret didn't even flinch.
“You're still making the same mistake, Daniel.”
Daniel's jaw tightened.
“You should have died eighteen months ago.”
Margaret smiled.
“So should your brother.”
The words hit Daniel like a physical blow.
His gun lowered slightly.
Ethan noticed.
“Your brother?”
Daniel didn't answer.
Margaret looked at Ethan.
“You were told he was dead.”
Ethan stared at her.
“Who?”
“Daniel's brother.”
She smiled.
“His name was Michael.”
Daniel finally spoke.
“Don't.”
Margaret continued.
“Michael discovered what the Parker family was doing beneath this house.”
Daniel's eyes became cold.
“He tried to expose you.”
“And failed.”
“You killed him.”
Margaret shook her head.
“No.”
She glanced toward the baby.
“Your brother made a choice.”
Daniel's hand trembled.
“What choice?”
Margaret's voice became almost gentle.
“He chose the child.”
Silence.
Ethan looked between them.
“What child?”
Margaret smiled.
“The first one.”
Daniel whispered:
“Noah.”
Margaret nodded.
“Michael tried to take Noah and run.”
“What happened?”
“He was caught.”
Daniel's face hardened.
“And you told everyone he died.”
“I told everyone what they needed to believe.”
Ethan looked at the baby in Margaret's arms.
“Is that Noah?”
Margaret didn't answer.
Ethan stepped forward.
“Give him to me.”
“No.”
“He's my son.”
Margaret's expression changed.
“For eighteen months, you never even knew he existed.”
Ethan froze.
“That wasn't my choice.”
“Wasn't it?”
Margaret's voice became sharp.
“You trusted me.”
She pointed at him.
“You signed every document I placed in front of you.”
Ethan shook his head.
“I don't remember.”
“Exactly.”
Clara whispered:
“What did you do to him?”
Margaret looked at her.
“I gave Ethan a life without the burden of remembering.”
“You stole my child.”
“I protected him from people who wanted him dead.”
Clara's eyes filled with tears.
“Then why did you take him?”
Margaret looked toward the newborn.
“Because the first child was never the one they wanted.”
Ethan's blood ran cold.
“What does that mean?”
Margaret smiled.
“The second child was.”
Clara instinctively covered her stomach.
“No.”
Margaret nodded.
“Yes.”
Daniel suddenly raised his gun.
“Ethan, don't listen to her.”
Margaret laughed.
“You still don't understand.”
Daniel fired.
The bullet struck the wall beside Margaret.
She ducked.
The man beside her fired back.
Daniel fell against the wall.
“Daniel!”
Ethan pulled Clara behind a metal cabinet.
Gunshots exploded through the corridor.
The newborn began crying.
Margaret disappeared around the corner.
Ethan waited.
Silence.
Then he heard a door slam.
“They're leaving!”
He started to chase her.
Clara grabbed his hand.
“Ethan!”
He stopped.
She was breathing rapidly.
Her face was covered in tears.
“I can't.”
“What?”
“I think the baby is coming.”
Ethan looked down.
Blood was beginning to stain the fabric beneath her.
His heart stopped.
“Daniel!”
No answer.
He ran back.
Daniel was sitting against the wall, clutching his side.
“Can you walk?”
Daniel looked at Clara.
Then at the blood.
“We need a medical room.”
“Where?”
Daniel pointed down the corridor.
“Third door.”
Ethan lifted Clara.
“Hold on.”
He carried her through the emergency corridor.
The walls were covered with photographs.
Dozens of them.
Pregnant women.
Children.
Blood samples.
Medical charts.
Ethan looked away.
He couldn't process any more.
He pushed open the third door.
Inside was a surgical room.
A bed.
Medical monitors.
Oxygen.
Everything they needed.
And on the wall was a photograph.
Ethan stopped.
It was him.
Standing beside Clara.
Holding a newborn.
The date was eighteen months earlier.
But something was wrong.
The photograph had been cut in half.
Someone had removed another person from beside them.
Ethan looked closer.
A tiny hand remained visible at the edge of the photograph.
A second baby.
Clara saw it.
She began crying.
“There were two.”
Ethan stared.
“You remember?”
“No.”
“Then how do you know?”
Clara touched the photograph.
“I don't.”
She looked at her stomach.
“But I feel like I should.”
Suddenly the monitor beside the bed turned on.
A heartbeat appeared.
Fast.
Strong.
Then another heartbeat appeared beneath it.
Ethan stared at the screen.
“Why are there two?”
Clara's eyes widened.
“No…”
The first heartbeat belonged to the unborn baby.
The second was slower.
But perfectly synchronized.
Daniel stumbled into the room.
He saw the monitor.
His face went pale.
“Turn it off.”
Ethan looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because that's not your baby's heartbeat.”
“What?”
Daniel pointed at the screen.
“That second signal is coming from outside her body.”
Clara stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
Daniel's voice dropped.
“It means someone is monitoring the other child.”
A speaker crackled overhead.
Margaret's voice filled the room.
“You finally understand.”
Ethan looked up.
“Where are you?”
“You're asking the wrong question.”
“What do you want?”
A pause.
Then Margaret answered:
“I want what belongs to this family.”
Ethan clenched his fists.
“You're not taking my wife or my child.”
“You already lost one.”
Clara screamed.
The contraction hit harder than the others.
Ethan grabbed her hand.
“I've got you.”
Margaret's voice continued.
“Ethan, look under the bed.”
He frowned.
“What?”
“Look.”
Ethan slowly crouched.
Underneath the medical bed was a small metal box.
He pulled it out.
Inside were documents.
Photographs.
And a handwritten birth certificate.
Ethan unfolded it.
His eyes moved across the page.
CHILDREN: NOAH PARKER
Then underneath it:
SECOND CHILD: FEMALE
The name had been blacked out.
Ethan stared.
“There's a second child.”
Clara shook uncontrollably.
“Where is she?”
Margaret answered through the speaker.
“That's what I've been trying to tell you.”
The lights suddenly went out.
Complete darkness.
Then the emergency lights returned.
The monitor was still running.
But Clara's heartbeat had disappeared.
Ethan looked at the screen.
“Clara?”
Her eyes were closed.
Her body went limp.
“Clara!”
He caught her.
The monitor screamed.
Daniel shouted:
“She's crashing!”
Ethan pressed the emergency button.
Nothing happened.
Then a final message appeared on the monitor.
DELIVERY PROTOCOL INITIATED.
Ethan stared in horror.
“What is that?”
Daniel looked at the screen.
His face went white.
“They're going to perform the delivery here.”
Ethan shook his head.
“No.”
The locked surgical doors began closing.
Metal bolts slid into place.
One.
Two.
Three.
From somewhere behind the wall came the sound of machinery starting.
Daniel rushed toward the door.
“Ethan!”
“What?”
“We're trapped.”
Ethan held Clara tighter.
Then a hidden speaker crackled.
Margaret whispered:
“Don't worry, Ethan.”
Her voice was almost tender.
“Your daughter will be born tonight.”
A pause.
“And by sunrise…”
The machinery grew louder.
“…she will belong to us.”
The lights turned red.
And Clara opened her eyes.
But when she looked at Ethan, she wasn't crying.
She was terrified.
“Ethan…”
“What?”
She whispered:
“There's someone else in this room.”
Ethan slowly turned.
May you like
Behind the surgical curtain…
a shadow moved.
