Chapter 7 - The Mother’s SecretEthan couldn't speak.
His mother.
The woman who had raised him.
The woman who had kissed his forehead every night.
The woman who had died believing he was safe.
She had been involved in Somnus.
“That's not possible,” Ethan whispered.
Daniel looked at him.
“Truth rarely asks permission.”
Claire stepped forward.
“There’s more.”
Ethan turned sharply.
“You knew.”
“I knew your mother was involved.”
“What did she do?”
Claire swallowed.
“She tried to destroy the program.”
Ethan stared at her.
“After helping create it?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because the side effects were worse than your father expected.”
Daniel nodded.
“She discovered that repeated exposure could damage memory.”
Ethan’s eyes widened.
“My symptoms…”
Claire nodded.
“Exactly.”
“What are you saying?”
“Someone isn't trying to kill you quickly.”
She lowered her voice.
“They've been slowly erasing you.”
Ethan stepped back.
Every unexplained moment suddenly had meaning.
The times he had forgotten meetings.
The names he couldn't remember.
The morning he had driven fifteen minutes and suddenly realized he didn't know where he was.
The headaches.
The sleeping spells.
The strange dreams.
Someone had been doing this to him.
For months.
“How long?”
Daniel answered.
“About a year.”
Ethan looked at Claire.
“Why didn't you stop them?”
“I tried.”
“By marrying me?”
Claire flinched.
“Yes.”
“You wanted access to my life.”
“I wanted access to you.”
“You manipulated me.”
“I protected you!”
Her voice cracked.
“I knew Hale was monitoring you. I knew he needed the formula. And I knew if I stayed close to you, I could slow him down.”
Ethan stared at her.
“You poisoned me.”
Claire's eyes filled with tears.
“Not me.”
“Then who?”
She whispered,
“Your doctor.”
Silence.
Ethan felt the floor disappear beneath him.
“My doctor?”
“Dr. Leonard Pierce.”
The man Ethan had trusted for years.
The man who had diagnosed him with stress.
The man who had prescribed sleeping medication.
The man who had access to every blood test.
Daniel nodded.
“He altered your records.”
Ethan suddenly remembered his last medical appointment.
Dr. Pierce had insisted that Claire accompany him.
He had thought nothing of it.
Now he understood.
“Where is he?”
Claire checked her phone.
“Not answering.”
Daniel walked toward the desk.
“That's because he's already here.”
Everyone froze.
“What?”
Daniel pointed to a security monitor.
A man in a gray coat was entering the mansion.
Dr. Leonard Pierce.
Ethan watched him walk through the front door.
He wasn't alone.
Two men followed.
Both carried guns.
Claire whispered,
“Hale.”
Ethan's blood ran cold.
“Why would Hale come here himself?”
Daniel shook his head.
“He wouldn't.”
“Then who is he?”
The camera zoomed in.
The older man removed his coat.
Silver hair.
Cold eyes.
Victor Hale.
He looked directly at the security camera.
Then he smiled.
Ethan's phone rang.
Hale's voice came through.
“Hello, Ethan.”
Ethan's hands tightened around the phone.
“How long have you been planning this?”
Hale laughed softly.
“Longer than you've been alive.”
“What do you want?”
“Your cooperation.”
“You poisoned me.”
“I preserved you.”
“You killed Grace.”
“No.”
A pause.
“Grace killed herself.”
Ethan froze.
“What?”
Hale continued.
“She discovered the truth about your father.”
Then came the sentence that shattered Ethan’s last piece of certainty.
“Your wife didn't die two years ago.”
Claire gasped.
Daniel's face changed.
May you like
Hale smiled through the phone.
“She has been alive this whole time.”
