Chapter 8 - My Grandmother’s SecretI couldn't understand.
“My grandmother?”
“Yes.”
My mother's breathing was unsteady.
“She started Bellhaven.”
I felt numb.
“That’s impossible.”
“She created the program.”
“Why?”
“She believed the Crown Marker was the next step in human evolution.”
My stomach twisted.
“And my father?”
“He joined later.”
“Then why did they attack me?”
“Because your grandmother wanted to stop the program.”
I stared at Ethan.
“What?”
My mother continued.
“She realized what Bellhaven was becoming.”
“She tried to shut it down.”
“But your father refused.”
“So they fought?”
“No.”
Her voice cracked.
“He killed her.”
My blood ran cold.
“What?”
“Your grandmother's death wasn't natural.”
I couldn't breathe.
The official story said she had died peacefully in her sleep.
“She was poisoned,” my mother whispered.
“Your father made it look like a stroke.”
I felt tears on my face.
“Why didn't you tell anyone?”
“Because I helped him.”
The admission shattered me.
“You…”
“I was afraid.”
“You let him kill her?”
“I didn't know what he would do.”
I hung up.
Detective Morgan looked at me.
“Do you know where she is?”
“No.”
“Can you get her to meet us?”
“I don't know.”
My phone buzzed again.
A text.
COME TO THE OLD GREENHOUSE. ALONE.
Another message followed.
BRING THE TRUST DOCUMENTS.
Detective Morgan read it.
“It's a trap.”
“I know.”
“But we might use it.”
Ethan shook his head.
“No.”
I looked at him.
“We need answers.”
“You need to stay in this hospital.”
“What if my mother knows something?”
“Then we bring her here.”
Another message appeared.
HE'S WATCHING YOU RIGHT NOW.
I looked around.
The hallway outside was empty.
Then the lights flickered.
The hospital television switched channels by itself.
A news broadcast appeared.
A photograph of me.
My name beneath it.
LOCAL WOMAN INVOLVED IN FAMILY INHERITANCE DISPUTE
The story was false.
It claimed I had attacked my sister.
That I had suffered a pregnancy complication because of my own reckless behavior.
Someone had leaked the story.
My father.
Detective Morgan grabbed her phone.
“That's not possible.”
“What?”
“The article was published four minutes ago.”
“How?”
“No press release. No police statement.”
She stared at the screen.
“Someone inside the hospital is feeding information to the media.”
Then every phone in the room received the same message.
Mine.
Ethan’s.
Detective Morgan’s.
The nurse's.
The message simply said:
THE BABY WILL NEVER LEAVE THIS HOSPITAL.
The nurse screamed.
Security rushed in.
The doctor came running.
“What's happening?”
My stomach tightened.
Another contraction.
Then another.
The doctor examined me.
“We need to prepare.”
“For what?”
“You may be going into premature labor.”
I stared at him.
“Now?”
He nodded.
And as the room erupted into activity, I noticed something written on the hospital whiteboard.
No one had been near it.
Three letters.
C-18
I looked at Ethan.
“That's my baby’s code.”
The doctor went pale.
May you like
Then the heart monitor began screaming.
And somewhere deep inside the hospital, a door slammed shut.
