Chapter 12 - The Three FamiliesThe photographs kept changing.
My grandmother.
Ethan's father.
My father.
All standing beside the same machine.
The same black crown symbol behind them.
Ethan stared at the screen.
“My father died when I was a kid.”
Reed nodded.
“He was one of the founders.”
“You're lying.”
“Ask your wife.”
I looked at Ethan.
He looked at me.
“No.”
My father suddenly appeared behind us.
He had found us.
Everyone turned.
He smiled.
“I told you the truth would hurt.”
Ethan stepped toward him.
“You knew about Ellie.”
My father shrugged.
“Of course.”
“You let them experiment on her?”
“We needed to understand the marker.”
“You're a monster.”
My father looked at me.
“You're carrying the most important child ever born.”
I covered my stomach.
“She isn't a project.”
“To you, she's a daughter.”
He smiled.
“To us, she's proof.”
“Proof of what?”
He walked toward the screen.
“That Crown works.”
Reed joined him.
“The marker remained dormant for generations.”
My father continued.
“Until your daughter.”
I looked at my mother.
“She knew.”
My mother shook her head.
“I didn't.”
My father laughed.
“You knew enough.”
Then Detective Morgan asked:
“Why the inheritance?”
My father looked at her.
“Because money was the easiest way to control the family.”
“What does the trust do?”
“It transfers the research rights tied to the bloodline.”
My stomach dropped.
“What research rights?”
My grandmother had secretly embedded a clause.
The person who controlled the trust controlled access to her genetic research.
But she had placed the final control in the hands of my unborn daughter.
“And when my daughter is born?”
“The trust becomes permanent.”
My father smiled.
“Bellhaven loses access.”
So that was it.
They needed her dead before birth.
Not because they wanted the money.
Because they needed the trust destroyed.
My grandmother had hidden the power inside my daughter's inheritance.
I looked at Ethan.
“Your father.”
He nodded slowly.
“My father was part of this.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did he leave?”
Reed answered.
“He tried to stop us.”
“And Ellie?”
Reed looked away.
“He was too late.”
Ethan's face hardened.
“You killed my daughter.”
“No.”
Reed pointed at my father.
“He did.”
The silence was unbearable.
My father didn't deny it.
Ethan lunged.
Detective Morgan grabbed him.
My father laughed.
Then an alarm began screaming.
Red lights flashed.
My mother looked terrified.
“What?”
Reed looked toward the monitor.
“She's in labor.”
I gasped.
“No.”
The doctor checked me.
“Your contractions are accelerating.”
“How long?”
“Minutes.”
My father smiled.
“This changes everything.”
“What?”
He looked at Reed.
“Get the operating room ready.”
Reed nodded.
My father turned toward me.
“You're going to give birth tonight.”
My mother whispered:
“And they're going to take the baby.”
I stared at the doors.
More guards appeared.
My heart pounded.
Then Ethan leaned toward me.
His voice was barely audible.
“Claire.”
May you like
“What?”
“I know how we're getting out.”
