CHAPTER 9: THE HOSPITAL THAT WAS NEVER EMPTY
11:13 PM.
Forty-seven minutes.
That was all we had.
I stared at the countdown on the monitor.
00:47:00.
My hands were shaking.
Not from fear.
From rage.
For six years, the Whitmores had built their empire on lies.
They stole my daughter.
They erased medical records.
They hid babies beneath their mansion.
They turned children into numbers.
And now they were going to destroy the hospital where everything began.
My hospital.
The place where Claire was born.
The place where I had been told my daughter died.
The place where someone had apparently created something far more terrifying than an heir.
I turned toward my grandfather.
“You're not going anywhere.”
He smiled.
“You still think this is about stopping me.”
“Isn't it?”
“No.”
He looked at the three babies.
“This was never my project.”
I froze.
“What?”
He pointed toward the broken monitor.
“I inherited it.”
“From whom?”
He looked at my father.
“Ask him.”
Everyone turned.
My father stood completely still.
I stared at him.
“Dad?”
He wouldn't look at me.
“Tell me.”
Silence.
“Tell me what you know.”
Finally, he whispered,
“The project began before you were born.”
“How long?”
“Thirty years.”
“Who started it?”
He swallowed.
“Your grandmother.”
I felt my stomach drop.
“My grandmother?”
“She believed the Whitmore bloodline was dying.”
My grandfather laughed.
“She was right.”
My father continued.
“She became obsessed with creating a perfect heir.”
“Perfect?”
“Genetically superior.”
I looked at Claire.
Then Emily.
Then the third baby.
“And she used me.”
My father nodded.
“You were selected before you understood what selection meant.”
“How?”
“Your mother was involved.”
I looked at my mother's body.
She lay motionless on the floor.
My chest tightened.
“She knew.”
“She tried to stop them.”
“Too late.”
“Yes.”
My grandfather suddenly stepped forward.
“She didn't try hard enough.”
I turned on him.
“You killed her.”
“She chose her fate.”
“You shot her.”
“She betrayed us.”
I stepped toward him.
“You took my childhood.”
He smiled.
“I gave you one.”
“You took my daughters.”
“I gave you heirs.”
“You destroyed families.”
“I built the future.”
I stared at him.
“No.”
I shook my head.
“You built a graveyard.”
His smile disappeared.
“Be careful.”
I stepped closer.
“Or what?”
For the first time, I wasn't afraid.
“You'll kill me?”
He raised his gun.
“Yes.”
Adrian stepped between us.
“No.”
My grandfather looked at him.
“You've always been weak.”
Adrian stared back.
“Maybe.”
Then he pulled out a second gun.
“But I'm done being your son.”
My grandfather's eyes narrowed.
Adrian pointed the gun directly at him.
“Drop yours.”
Silence.
Then my grandfather laughed.
“You won't shoot me.”
Adrian's finger tightened.
“You're right.”
He lowered the gun slightly.
“I won't.”
He fired.
The bullet hit the remote in my grandfather's hand.
The device flew across the room.
My grandfather stared at the shattered plastic.
Adrian looked at me.
“Run.”
I didn't hesitate.
My father grabbed Claire.
Daniel grabbed two babies.
I held Emily and the third baby.
We ran into the tunnel.
Behind us, gunshots erupted.
The mansion shook.
Claire screamed.
“Mommy!”
“Keep running!”
We reached the underground garage.
A black SUV was waiting.
Daniel opened the doors.
“Everybody inside!”
We climbed in.
My father took the wheel.
Adrian got into the passenger seat.
I sat in the back with Claire and the babies.
Daniel climbed beside me.
“Where are we going?”
I looked at Adrian.
“The hospital.”
He nodded.
“St. Victoria.”
“Why would the explosion be there?”
“Because that's where they kept the original laboratory.”
I stared at him.
“You said the mansion was the laboratory.”
“It was one of them.”
“What?”
“There are facilities beneath the hospital.”
My stomach twisted.
“How deep?”
“Four levels.”
Claire looked frightened.
“Mommy?”
I squeezed her hand.
“We're going to find out what happened to us.”
The SUV accelerated.
11:21 PM.
Thirty-nine minutes.
The city blurred outside.
I looked down at the newborn in my arms.
Emily.
Then the other baby.
The third child.
She had been silent since we left.
Too silent.
I touched her cheek.
Her eyes opened.
Dark brown.
She stared at me.
Then she smiled.
My heart stopped.
A newborn shouldn't smile like that.
Daniel noticed.
“What's wrong?”
“Look.”
He leaned closer.
The baby's eyes followed his face.
Then moved toward the windshield.
Toward the road.
Daniel frowned.
“That's strange.”
“What?”
“She isn't looking at you.”
“What is she looking at?”
He turned.
At the rear window.
A black car was following us.
“Someone's behind us.”
My father looked into the mirror.
“How many?”
“Two cars.”
Adrian checked his phone.
“They're not police.”
“Who?”
He looked at me.
“Whitmore security.”
My father accelerated.
The black cars followed.
We turned left.
They turned left.
We turned right.
They turned right.
Claire began crying.
“Are they coming for us?”
I hugged her.
“Yes.”
She looked at me.
“Are they going to take Emily?”
I shook my head.
“No one is taking anyone.”
Daniel looked at the baby.
Then at me.
“They aren't after Emily.”
“Then who?”
He pointed.
“The third baby.”
My stomach tightened.
“Why?”
“Because she's Subject 00.”
I looked down.
“She isn't.”
Daniel shook his head.
“We don't know that.”
My father suddenly slammed on the brakes.
Everyone lurched forward.
“What happened?”
He pointed ahead.
The road was blocked.
Two black SUVs.
Men with weapons.
Adrian opened his door.
“Stay inside.”
“No.”
“Emma.”
“I've had enough people telling me what to do.”
I grabbed Claire's hand.
“Stay with me.”
The men approached.
One raised his weapon.
Then a loud crash came from behind.
The two cars following us collided.
A motorcycle shot between them.
The rider stopped beside our SUV.
Helmet.
Black jacket.
He pulled off the helmet.
I stared.
Dr. Hayes.
She looked at me.
“You took your time.”
I almost laughed.
“How are you alive?”
She smiled.
“Your husband isn't the only person who knows how to survive.”
Adrian looked confused.
“You knew about the second facility?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell us?”
“Because I needed to know who was watching.”
Dr. Hayes looked at the babies.
Her expression changed.
“You found her.”
I held the third baby tighter.
“You know her?”
“Yes.”
“Who is she?”
Dr. Hayes looked at Daniel.
Then my father.
Then me.
“She isn't a clone.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“She is the original.”
Daniel shook his head.
“The scan said—”
“The scan was altered.”
“By whom?”
Dr. Hayes looked toward the hospital.
“Your grandfather.”
I stared.
“Then what is she?”
Dr. Hayes stepped closer.
“She was born six years ago.”
I felt dizzy.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Then why does she look like a newborn?”
“Because she was never allowed to age normally.”
My stomach twisted.
“How?”
“Cryogenic suspension.”
The world seemed to stop.
“She was frozen?”
“Not exactly.”
Dr. Hayes took a breath.
“She was kept in a controlled metabolic state.”
I looked at the baby.
“Why?”
“Because they needed her DNA.”
I remembered my grandfather's words.
The original.
The template.
The key.
Everything suddenly connected.
Claire wasn't the original.
Emily wasn't the original.
The third baby was.
But she had been born six years ago.
Which meant something else.
I looked at Dr. Hayes.
“Then who was the baby I buried?”
Dr. Hayes stared at me.
“There was never a body.”
I felt cold.
“I know.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“You don't understand.”
She leaned closer.
“The baby they told you died…”
She paused.
“…was never born.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
Dr. Hayes looked at Claire.
“Claire is the daughter you were told died.”
I stared at my six-year-old daughter.
Then at Emily.
Then at the baby in my arms.
Dr. Hayes continued.
“The newborn you gave birth to tonight…”
She looked at Emily.
“…is your second daughter.”
Then she pointed toward the third baby.
“And she is your first.”
I couldn't speak.
Three daughters.
Three different timelines.
Three different lies.
But then Dr. Hayes said something that changed everything.
“There is one more thing.”
“What?”
She looked at my stomach.
“You weren't pregnant with twins tonight.”
I froze.
“What?”
Dr. Hayes whispered,
“You were pregnant with one.”
My heart stopped.
“Then how did I give birth to two?”
She looked at the third baby.
“You didn't.”
Silence.
“She was brought to the hospital.”
My blood ran cold.
“By whom?”
Dr. Hayes looked toward the burning city skyline.
“Your mother.”
I shook my head.
“My mother was shot tonight.”
“I know.”
“Then how could she—”
“She came prepared.”
Dr. Hayes pulled a small envelope from her coat.
She handed it to me.
Inside was a hospital bracelet.
The name printed on it was mine.
But the date was six years ago.
I turned it over.
On the back, someone had written:
WHEN THE THIRD CHILD RETURNS, THE MOTHER MUST REMEMBER.
I looked at Dr. Hayes.
“Remember what?”
She stared into my eyes.
“Who you really are.”
A distant siren sounded.
Then another.
Then dozens.
The hospital lights ahead suddenly went out.
The entire building went dark.
Dr. Hayes looked at her watch.
11:38 PM.
Twenty-two minutes.
She whispered,
“We're too late.”
The hospital doors opened by themselves.
A man stood inside the entrance.
Waiting.
My grandfather.
He had somehow escaped the mansion.
And he was holding something in his arms.
A newborn baby.
I stared.
My heart stopped.
Because the baby looked exactly like Emily.
My grandfather smiled.
“Now,” he said,
“we can finally begin the fourth birth.”
The hospital doors slammed shut behind us.
May you like
11:39 PM.
Twenty-one minutes remained.
